TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — “My cheapest employee, shows up on time,” says Samuel Nalli, describing Spice—a worker who's been on staff at Saffron Indian Bistro on Oracle for about a year now.
Spice is a little different than other servers at Saffron for one main reason. Spice is a serving robot, the first of it's kind in the area, according to Saffron owner Saurabh Sareen.
“It’s a great addition to the family. I saw this as a cool factor to bring it to Tucson. We are the first one to have it," Sareen tells me.
“We just came across it scrolling through and we said, 'let's see what it's like',” says Nalli.
It was a way for the restaurant to stay up to date with technology, and add something flashy to entertain diners.
“You just see heads turn because they are not used to it," says Nalli. "It's neat—the kids love it, the parents love it.”
As an added benefit, Spice can share a lot of the workload with existing staff.
But Sareen and Nalli are confident she's here to help—not to replace existing staff.
“There's a very fine line," says Sareen. "I don’t want people to think we are going robot, robotic everywhere. Just enough to help our staff.”
In fact, she's been a huge asset to the work flow at the restaurant:
Nalli: “Our main goal is not to replace anybody.”
Sareen: “If I have Spice, it will help my employees be a little more efficient and not too tired because it can actually take up to 60 pounds of weight.”
Spice's services cost $800 a month—an added cost to payroll these restaurateurs say is well worth it.
"Its been a good addition to the Saffron staff,” says Nalli.
Saffron Indian Bistro is located at 7607 N. Oracle Rd.
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Heidi Alagha is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. Heidi spent 5 years as the morning anchor in Waco where she was named the best anchor team by the Texas Associated Press. Share your story ideas and important issues with Heidi by emailing heidi.alagha@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.