The restaurant industry faces unprecedented challenges with increasing minimum wage demands and a shrinking labor pool, pushing technology to the forefront as operators seek ways to redefine hospitality and streamline operations.
For many restaurant owners, higher labor costs and labor shortages have created a need to reassess traditional staffing models while maintaining food quality and customer experience.
This industry-wide pivot toward automation and robotics is seen as a way to meet these demands, and Total Food Service (TFS) is spotlighting concepts that integrate these innovations to transform dining.
One standout example is Kernel, the latest endeavor by Chipotle founder Steve Ells, designed to harness technology for efficient, high-quality service while minimizing labor reliance.
Kernel is a fast-casual restaurant in New York City that plans to operate primarily with robotics, setting a new standard in fast food.
Each Kernel location, which will be around 1,000 square feet, is expected to require only three employees, significantly reducing labor compared to typical fast-casual establishments, which often need at least 10-12 staff members to run smoothly.
Through robotics, Kernel can provide consistent food preparation, increase kitchen efficiency, and ensure food safety with minimal human involvement.
By automating various kitchen tasks like ingredient assembly and cooking, Kernel aims to offer diners quick, affordable meals while enabling the company to pay competitive wages and benefits to the few human employees on staff.
For Ells, who successfully grew Chipotle into a fast-casual giant, Kernel represents a vision where automation and sustainability meet.
TFS recognizes that this balance of fewer employees and technology-driven kitchens represents a shift that could define the future of restaurant operations in the face of labor-related pressures.
With consumers’ expectations for convenience, consistency, and quick service, the integration of robotics not only addresses labor shortages but also enhances operational efficiency, which has become a competitive edge in the fast-casual market.
While technology cannot replace the warmth of human interaction entirely, it allows restaurants to allocate labor more strategically, focusing on customer service touchpoints and quality control. Additionally, automated systems reduce human error, ensuring that food safety standards are more easily maintained.
Automation is also reshaping the dining experience. Restaurants like Kernel offer food pick-up through high-tech cubbies and text notifications, reducing in-person contact and catering to diners who prioritize efficiency over interaction. The concept reflects a broader trend in hospitality that responds to both economic constraints and shifting consumer behaviors.
By reducing labor needs and streamlining the customer journey, restaurants embracing technology can address industry challenges while delivering the fast, affordable, and quality-driven experience diners crave. TFS believes that these automation-driven models, while currently novel, could pave the way for sustainable restaurant operations in a rapidly evolving labor market.
Table of Contents
The Players:
The Founder: Steve Ells, President, KERNEL, New York, NY
The Operator: Tom Cortese, CEO, KERNEL, New York, NY
The Equipment & Supply Dealer: Eugene Beniaminson, Lead Equipment Specialist, and Tess Denton Rex, Senior Account Executive for Strategic Accounts, Singer Equipment, Paterson, NJ
Tom Cortese’s Approach
Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to share my journey with Kernel. It all started when I was at a juncture in my life where I was ready to explore a new adventure after spending more than a decade with Peloton. For those who aren’t familiar with my background, I was one of the co-founders of Peloton, a brand that became synonymous with interactive fitness.
We launched Peloton on January 3, 2012, and from that moment on, I dedicated myself to building that brand and business from the ground up. It wasn’t just about fitness; it was about reimagining the connection between exercise and lifestyle, especially during challenging periods like the COVID pandemic.
After a long and fulfilling tenure, I was eager for a new direction, hoping to take a well-deserved break. Little did I know that a casual meeting with Steve Ells, the founder of Chipotle, would drastically alter those plans. What was initially supposed to be a brief consultation quickly turned into something more profound.
I found myself enthralled with Steve’s new concept, and the more we spoke about the vision for Kernel, the more I knew I had to be involved. It’s been about 90 days now, and here I am, diving in head-first, excited and enthusiastic to contribute to the growth of this new brand.
Kernel is, at its heart, Steve Ells’ brainchild, and I have the honor of being the foster parent, helping to build it alongside Steve. To understand Kernel’s place today, one must appreciate its roots in the experiences and insights Steve gathered from running Chipotle for over thirty years.
Steve’s journey began back in 1993 when he was 27, armed with a passion for cooking and a desire to do things differently in the food industry.
He saw the burgeoning popularity of burritos and tacos, and his belief was simple—he could do it better. He wanted to take an everyday, beloved food item and elevate it using better ingredients and more thoughtful preparation. This led to the foundation of Chipotle and the creation of a product that resonated with customers across the nation.
Yet, even after Chipotle became a household name, Steve still saw opportunities for innovation in the food space. In his years leading Chipotle, he realized that there were uncharted avenues in hospitality that had the potential to redefine how we interact with our meals.
So, when it came to Kernel, Steve sought to blend his passion for culinary excellence with modern advancements, particularly in terms of operational efficiency and automation.
When I joined Kernel, one of the key questions was how we could redefine hospitality. The notion of hospitality for years has involved employees at a restaurant providing personal, face-to-face service, and this is something that we wanted to build upon, not replace.
Steve and I both believe that there are certain elements of hospitality that are timeless. Human beings appreciate the warmth and connection that comes from genuine, attentive service, and it was crucial for us that Kernel never lose that.
However, we also recognized that there was room to rethink the operational model. Restaurants have long been constrained by laborious back-end processes that are often tedious for staff.
These processes, while necessary, are less rewarding and make it harder for employees to focus on what really matters—the customer experience. At Kernel, we decided to leverage automation for these tasks, not to eliminate jobs, but to enhance them.
By automating some of the back-of-house tasks—things like ingredient preparation, portion control, and certain cooking methods—we could bring more team members to the front-of-house. This allowed us to shift human roles to the parts of the restaurant experience that actually required a personal touch.
Imagine walking into Kernel and being greeted warmly by someone who has the time to walk you through the menu, make suggestions, and ensure your experience is memorable.
We believe in enhancing customer interactions by reducing the time our employees spend on tasks that are better suited for machines.
The introduction of automation was a pivotal part of Kernel’s strategy. It was never about replacing people but about elevating the entire operation. Automation gave us consistency, precision, and quality control that is often challenging to maintain in a traditional kitchen environment.
By automating parts of the process—like chopping, mixing, and dispensing—we could ensure that every dish served met our high standards of quality every single time.
But there’s an important balance here: Kernel has always been a restaurant first, and our focus was to cook, prepare, and serve food that people love. Automation came second. It was about enhancing our processes, not defining them.
We took the approach of focusing on the menu first and then figuring out where technology could best support our goals. This wasn’t a case of forcing technology into the restaurant; rather, we let the food dictate the technology we needed.
Steve’s philosophy was clear from the start: we needed to put food quality and taste at the forefront. This was evident in the culture we built around the kitchen. Steve, being a classically trained chef, brought in other exceptional chefs like Chef Andrew and Chef Neil, both of whom came from prestigious culinary backgrounds.
Together, they created a culture that was dedicated to creating food that was delicious, accessible, and prepared in the most efficient manner possible.
At Kernel, our focus is on simplicity and efficiency. The menu, just like the name, gets back to the basics—plants, ideas, the essence of good food. We’re not interested in overwhelming our customers with endless choices.
Instead, we’ve honed in on just ten items: chicken sandwiches, plant-based burgers, vibrant salads, and fresh vegetables. We’ve designed a model that’s all about minimizing waste and maximizing quality.
Skilled cooks at our central kitchen handle the preparation of all the ingredients, ensuring consistency and care in every dish. From there, the ingredients are delivered in insulated totes by bicycle to our small satellite locations.
It’s a lean operation—each of our restaurants runs with only three employees and a robot, seamlessly working together to cook and assemble orders on-site This approach not only keeps costs down but allows us to deliver genuinely delicious, plant-based meals in a sustainable and efficient way.
Kernel is all about quality, simplicity, and a better experience for both our customers and the planet.
I remember one day, early on, observing the interaction between our chefs and the engineering team. The engineers were testing sensor technology that would allow us to dispense items like cheese or carrots in precise amounts.
At that point, they had succeeded in working with larger, chunkier items, but they were trying to determine the right approach for handling salad greens.
Watching the meticulous effort our chefs put into ensuring that even the smallest details were right was inspiring. It was about making sure that the ingredients were treated with the respect they deserved, even when automation was involved.
Another factor that played into the development of Kernel was the reality of today’s labor market. Minimum wage has been on the rise, from $15 to $17, and likely beyond, and as wages increase, so do the challenges associated with maintaining a sustainable business model.
Our intention with automation was never about eliminating jobs for the sake of cutting costs—it was about being realistic about how we could best operate in the modern world.
Every industry evolves, and restaurants are no different. We knew that we could use automation to take over some of the more repetitive, labor-intensive tasks, while allowing our human staff to focus on areas where they could genuinely shine.
This meant investing in technology for roles that could be streamlined and ensuring that our people could focus on creativity, customer interaction, and adding that human element that no machine could replace.
Reflecting on Kernel’s development, I believe that our approach to building the menu first and integrating technology second was a key differentiator. This “food-first” philosophy ensured that we never lost sight of what truly mattered: making food that people love.
Steve, Chef Andrew, and Chef Neil set the tone from day one, ensuring that Kernel was rooted in culinary excellence. From sourcing quality ingredients to perfecting each recipe, the goal was always to provide food that people would come back for, time and again.
We also wanted Kernel to be a place that represented the future of dining—where efficiency meets warmth, and where great food is complemented by a seamless experience.
We wanted people to feel welcome, to know that their food was prepared with care, and to be assured that every visit would meet their expectations. That’s the kind of restaurant we are building.
And so, here we are, not just rethinking how a restaurant operates but redefining what hospitality means in the 21st century. We’re creating a model where technology supports our staff, where the quality of food is paramount, and where every customer who walks in feels like they are genuinely valued.
This is Kernel—a place that celebrates great food, human connection, and the intelligent use of technology to enhance both.
Eugene Beniaminson and Tess Denton Rex’s Approach
When I first got the call to support the Kernel team, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I knew was that they were building something completely different—something that hadn’t been done before in the restaurant industry.
The concept was all about creating a centralized commissary kitchen (CK) where they could handle all the major prep work and then transfer those products to individual restaurant units for final preparation.
It was an ambitious hub-and-spoke model aimed at scaling efficiency, cutting labor costs, and ultimately delivering a consistent quality of food to each location.
Our introduction to the Kernel team came through a vendor, Turbo Chef. The initial discussions were all about laying out the CK, which was offsite from their initial restaurant location. They had a lot of very specific ideas for what they wanted, and I was brought in to offer feedback and bring these ideas into alignment with what was practically possible in a foodservice setting.
What struck me immediately was how detailed and researched the Kernel team was. They are very thoughtful customers. They didn’t just come to us and say, “Build this.”
They were heavily involved in every part of the specification process. They went to trade shows, including the NRA Show in Chicago, where they spoke with multiple vendors, and they really educated themselves on the potential and limitations of different kitchen technologies.
The commissary kitchen was where everything started—literally and conceptually. In this space, the main goal was to handle all the food prep centrally, so that the individual restaurant units could focus on reheating and finishing the food for customers.
One of the first big decisions was the dishwasher. They decided to go for a flight-type dishwasher—a big investment, but also a very forward-thinking one.
It was a decision that said, “We’re planning for significant growth.” Most start-ups might go for a smaller, single-door rack machine, but the Kernel team was thinking ahead. They wanted the capacity to grow without having to constantly overhaul their infrastructure.
I remember thinking, “These guys are buying size 14 sneakers before they can fill them,” but that’s the kind of confidence and forward-planning they had.
The cooking line itself was another area that required some creative thinking. This wasn’t going to be your typical restaurant line with open burners and ovens. No, this was about energy efficiency and reducing the overall carbon footprint.
We ended up using a combination of energy-efficient, all-electric cooking equipment. There were combi ovens, induction ranges, and a heavy emphasis on reducing utility needs—both for electricity and water. We wanted to make sure that the CK would be as sustainable as possible, without compromising on output.
Working with Kernel also meant integrating robotics and automation, which is not something you see every day in a typical kitchen. There was a lot of talk about using robotics for repetitive kitchen tasks—something that would minimize labor while ensuring consistency.
This was new ground for us as well, and it required a lot of back-and-forth conversations with both the Kernel team and our manufacturing partners.
What made the project interesting was the move away from the vendors we originally thought would be our partners. It’s interesting how these projects evolve—you start with a vision, but it doesn’t always go according to plan, and you’ve got to adapt quickly.
One major lesson learned was when we tried to install a flight machine customized to fit the Cambro containers that Kernel used to transport food. It was one of those situations where we were so excited to find a factory that could deliver what we thought we needed, only to realize, much later, that we could’ve done a lot more groundwork.
It turned out to be a very challenging installation with many unexpected issues, but we got through it, and in the end, it was all about problem-solving on the fly.
Once we had the commissary figured out, the next challenge was figuring out how to get all that prepped food out to the individual restaurant units.
The model was that the CK would do everything from chopping to marinating, and then bike messengers would take these food items to each restaurant, every hour if needed, to ensure everything was fresh. The logistics were fascinating—how do you move prepped food across a busy city and keep it at safe temperatures?
We worked with a variety of container solutions, ultimately settling on Cambro containers with heavy-duty insulation to keep the food within a safe temperature range during transit. It was unconventional, but the Kernel team was willing to think outside the box. The detail at their end included new issues that we’ve never seen before: how do you retrofit the bikes to handle these containers.
Once we got into the restaurant units themselves, it was a whole different ballgame. These spaces were not designed to be full kitchens. They were simply places where the food would be reheated, finished, and handed over to the customer. The front of the house was minimalist—just a counter and an area for customers to pick up their orders.
I joked with them once, asking if they were expecting people to come in and write the great American novel while eating. They laughed because that just wasn’t the point here.
They didn’t want people lingering—they wanted efficiency and throughput. The back of the house was similarly stripped down. We provided only the essentials—three-compartment sinks, a mop sink, faucets, and a few other appliances.
Everything was sourced at the last minute and had to be rushed to the plumbers for installation. It was chaotic, but it got done.
Reflecting on the entire process, I think the biggest takeaway for me is that projects like this really push the boundaries of what’s possible in foodservice.
It’s customers like Kernel that challenge us to be better, to be nimbler, and to think differently. The challenges we faced—from selecting the right equipment to dealing with custom installations—were all part of the journey.
Kernel’s vision was to be lean, efficient, and ready for the future of foodservice, and being a part of that journey was truly a privilege. As they expand, adding more units and refining their processes, we’ll continue to be there, learning, adapting, and hopefully helping to shape the future of how food is prepared and served.
In the end, it’s all about being on the right side of progress, enabling innovation, and being willing to roll up our sleeves and get the job done.
