San Antonio Shake Shack locations will add automated kiosks, joining industry trend

San Antonio’s Shake Shack restaurants will shake things up next year, service-wise.

The chain is joining McDonald’s, Panera, Chili’s and other food-industry competitors in adding automated ordering kiosks, industry news site QSR Magazine reports. The move is expected to streamline operations and offset labor costs.

Last Thursday, Shake Shack committed to retrofitting all locations by the end of 2023, saying its stores with kiosks are its most profitable channel, boasting better labor rates than locations without them.

Well, duh. It’s a machine.

For those not in the know, self-ordering kiosks have been on the rise since the pandemic. The systems helped restaurants promote social distancing by letting customers place their orders and pay without interacting with staff.

That capability also helped some outlets survive the pandemic’s labor shortage, during which foodservice workers left en masse while restaurants were shut down.

Many chains saw huge profit jumps after installing people-free ordering systems. McDonald’s, for example, reported that locations with touch-screen ordering logged a 5-6% lift in sales.

Shake Shack expects to add kiosks to 20 to 30 existing stores by year’s end, leaving 60 to 70 in line for 2023. San Antonio’s two Shake Shack locations are at 3003 Broadway and 7427 San Pedro Ave.

So many restaurants, so little time. Find out the latest San Antonio dining news with our Flavor Friday Newsletter.

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This article appears in Nov 2-15, 2022.