Sweetgreen in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood has introduced an innovative machine called the “Infinite Kitchen” to automate food assembly and improve efficiency. This technology, developed in-house by Sweetgreen, allows the restaurant to churn out 500 orders in an hour and maintains portion consistency to a science. The machine has proven to be a game changer for the restaurant chain, which is planning to implement it in more locations due to its success in improving speed, consistency, cost control, and employee experience.
Customers at Sweetgreen can place orders through the app or touchscreen tablets, customizing their salads, grain bowls, or protein plates. Orders are then sent directly to the Infinite Kitchen, where a human worker places the container on a smart track that moves it through the system. More than 40 tubes dispense ingredients into the container along the way, and bowls rotate or spin at certain spots on the track to ensure proper mixing. The machine has a square layout at the Seattle location, with visible ingredient compartments for transparency.
Employees at Sweetgreen are responsible for keeping the ingredient bays stocked with fresh produce and proteins, such as kale, chicken, carrots, and rice. Additional ingredients, such as delicate herbs like cilantro, are added manually at a finishing station. A large screen near the Infinite Kitchen tracks ingredient levels and alerts employees when bays need refilling. The restaurant also houses a team that preps ingredients in-house, ensuring freshness and quality in each order that is prepared by the automated machine.
The efficiency of the Infinite Kitchen allows orders to be ready in about three to five minutes, with some customers receiving their meals in as little as two minutes. Despite the automated preparation, the taste and quality of the food remain uncompromised, with fresh ingredients and well-balanced flavors in each dish. The consistency in portioning and ingredient distribution leads to increased customer satisfaction, making the automated system a favorable option for food assembly in the restaurant industry.
The Sweetgreen restaurant in Capitol Hill operates daily for pickup, dine-in, and delivery from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Located next to Mt. Joy and Centrl Office, the dining area features a painted lantern installation by local artist Hayley Deti. With a focus on sustainability and efficiency, Sweetgreen’s introduction of the Infinite Kitchen showcases how automation in food preparation can enhance the customer experience while streamlining operations for restaurant staff. The success of this technology at the Seattle location suggests a promising future for robotic devices and automation in the food industry.
