Buffalo Wild Wings testing robot that specializes in frying chicken wings

Restaurants are testing robotic solutions to help staff kitchens as one way of dealing with the labor shortage.

Buffalo Wild Wings is testing a robotic solution described as “the only robotic chicken wing frying solution designed from the ground up for high volume restaurants.” The robot, called Flippy Wings, is from startup Miso Robotics.

The first Flippy Wings unit, dubbed "Wingy" by the kitchen team, is currently installed at the Inspire Brands (parent company of Buffalo Wild Wings)  Innovation Center in Atlanta, where the robot is being tailored and tuned to specifications. A second unit will be installed at Inspire's Alliance Kitchen, its ghost kitchen center, to test it in a real cooking environment, before eventually being deployed in a standalone Buffalo Wild Wings location next year.

Flippy Wings can fry up chicken wings and drop them into a hot holding area. This allows kitchen staff to cook more while spending less time attending to the deep fryer, according to Miso.  The frying area is also made safer as the unit eliminates several hot touchpoints and drastically decreases oil spillage. Also, Miso said its tests show a 10-20% overall increase in food production speeds when deploying the machine.

Miso Robotics previously has partnered with other restaurant brands, including White Castle. The company expects to announce more more partner announcements in the coming months. 

"Technology is making a fundamental impact on the end-to-end restaurant operational model," said Paul Brown, CEO of Buffalo Wild Wings parent company Inspire Brands. "Intelligent automation including AI and robotics will not only transform how we communicate with and take orders from our guests but also how we prepare and serve food to those guests. This transformation will ultimately result in improved efficiencies in our restaurants and an overall elevated experience for our guests and our team members."

Inspire Brands’ portfolio includes nearly 32,000 Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, Rusty Taco and Sonic Drive-In locations worldwide.