Restaurant chains are investing in robots, bringing change for

Chipotle Mexican Grill is testing whether a robot can make tortilla chips in stores. Sweetgreen plans to automate salad making in at least two locations. And Starbucks wants its coffee-making equipment to lessen the workload for baristas.

This year brought a flurry of automation announcements in the restaurant industry as operators scrambled to find solutions to a shrinking workforce and climbing wages. But the efforts have been spotty so far, and experts say it will be years before robots pay off for companies or take the place of workers.

“I think there’s a lot of experimentation that is going to lead us somewhere at some point, but we’re still a very labor intensive, labor-driven industry,” said David Henkes, a principal at Technomic, a restaurant research firm.

Even before the pandemic, restaurants were struggling to attract and retain workers. The global health crisis exacerbated the issue, as many laid-off workers left for other jobs and didn’t return. Three-quarters of restaurant operators are facing staffing shortages that keep them from operating at full capacity, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Many restaurant operators hiked wages to attract workers, but that pressured profits at a time when food costs were also climbing.

Automation startups pitch themselves as a solution. They say robots can flip burgers and assemble pizzas more consistently than overworked employees, and that artificial intelligence can enable computers to take drive-thru orders more accurately.

Burger chain White Castle has installed Flippy at four of its restaurants and committed to adding the technology to 100 as it revamps locations. Chipotle Mexican Grill is testing the equipment, which it calls “Chippy,” at a California restaurant to make tortilla chips.

“The highest value benefit that we bring to a restaurant is not to reduce their expenses, but to allow them to sell more and generate a profit,” Miso CEO Mike Bell told CNBC.

At Buffalo Wild Wings, however, Flippy hasn’t progressed out of the testing phase after more than a year. Parent company Inspire Brands, which is privately held and also owns Dunkin’, Arby’s and Sonic, said Miso is just one of the partners it has worked with to automate frying chicken wings.

Another startup, Picnic Works, offers pizza assembly equipment that automates adding sauce, cheese and other toppings. A Domino’s franchisee is testing the technology at a Berlin location.

Picnic rents out its equipment, with prices starting at $3,250 a month. CEO Clayton Wood told CNBC that…