Autonomous Burger Joint Sets Up Shop

CaliExpress turns to Flippy automation to create premium Wagyu blend burgers at traditional price points.

Image Courtesy of CaliExpress by Flippy™


CaliExpress by Flippy™ utilizes the most advanced systems in food technology. Image Courtesy of CaliExpress by Flippy™
CaliExpress turns to Flippy automation to create premium Wagyu blend burgers at traditional price points.

Calif Group, a holding company using technology to transform the restaurant and retail industries, is teaming up with Miso Robotics, creator of Flippy, the world's first AI-powered robotic fry station, and PopID, a technology company specializing in ordering and payments using biometrics, to open the world’s first fully autonomous restaurant.

CalifExpress by Flippy utilizes the most advanced systems in food technology—grill and fry stations are fully automated, powered by proprietary leading-edge artificial intelligence and robotics. Guests will watch their food being cooked robotically after checking in with their PopID accounts on self-ordering kiosks to get personalized order recommendations and make easy and fast payments.

For customers, these various technologies will enable CaliExpress by Flippy to deliver freshly made burgers based on a wagyu blend at price points competitive with other premium burgers using standard meat. Uniquely, the grill robot grinds the high quality beef in real-time after the order is placed, resulting in a burger patty that melts in the mouth.

The Flippy robotic fry station will serve up crispy, hot fries made from top grade potatoes that are always cooked to exact times. The menu is very simple, comprising burgers, cheeseburgers, and french fries.

For employees working at CaliExpress by Flippy, these technologies will create a safer, easier, and friendlier kitchen. At the fry station, Flippy represents revolutionary breakthroughs in safety as slippage and burns can be nearly eliminated as well as in waste reduction in both food and oil. The CaliExpress by Flippy kitchen can be run by a much smaller crew, in a less stressful environment, compared to competing restaurants while also providing above average wages, officials said.

“To our knowledge, this is the world's first operating restaurant where both ordering and every single cooking process are fully automated,” said John Miller, CEO of PopID and board member of Miso Robotics. “The marriage of these various technologies to create the most autonomous restaurant in the world is the culmination of years of research, development, and investment in a family of revolutionary companies.”

The new CaliExpress by Flippy restaurant is located in a prime retail location in Pasadena, California, on the northwest corner of Green Street and Madison Avenue at 561 E. Green St. The location will also serve as a pseudo-museum experience presented by Miso Robotics, which will include dancing robot arms from retired Flippy units, experimental 3D-printed artifacts from past development, photographic displays, and much more.

The space is designed to serve noteworthy food, plus inspire the next generation of kitchen AI and automation entrepreneurs. Local schools and educational groups are encouraged to reach out for tours.

“AI-powered, robotic order-taking and cooking enables the major chains that feed America to substantially improve quality, consistency and speed,” said Rich Hull, CEO of Miso Robotics. “Miso is proud to partner with Cali Group and PopID to make CaliExpress by Flippy a reality. Flippy has been an incredible success story and now everyone in Southern California can come take a look — and a taste — for themselves.”

CaliExpress by Flippy will open in December 2023 by reservation only with a grand opening to follow.

Watch this video to see how Flippy works.


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Image Courtesy of CaliExpress by Flippy™

CaliExpress by Flippy™ utilizes the most advanced systems in food technology. Image Courtesy of CaliExpress by Flippy™


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