Robot restaurant serves pizza with a side of technology

BROOKHAVEN, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - You’ll find all the basics at Big Bang Pizza: dough, cheese, pepperoni, and sausage.  But the secret ingredient at this restaurant isn’t in the sauce — it’s in the Pepper.

Pepper is one of the “robo-employees” at the pizzeria, which opened a month ago in Brookhaven on Buford Highway. Owners German Barreda and Stephanie Paredes say they dreamed of opening their own pizza restaurant for a long time, although Parades didn’t necessarily want something so high-tech:  “[German] sent me a link. He’s like, ‘Hey, look, robots!’  And I’m, like, ‘You’re crazy!  No.’ And he insisted for a couple of months.”

Suffice to say, Barreda finally got his way, ordering a trio of robots to help out in the restaurant.  Pepper, which greets customers with recommendations and dance moves, came from Japan; Amy and Lola, which are programmed to take the food to tables, were created in China. Barreda programmed each one, and says they were instant favorites with diners: “As soon as they start coming in, they’re like, ‘Wow!  I gotta go back and bring my grandchildren!  I gotta go back and bring my son!”  

In case you’re concerned that robots have completely taken over the restaurant, don’t be — human beings still take orders at the counter, and they still make the pizzas in the kitchen, too.  But Pepper, Amy, and Lola have obviously been getting the most attention since Big Bang Pizza opened, with pictures and videos of the robots quickly spreading around social media.  

The Good Day Atlanta team say some of those pictures and videos, and, of course, we had to head over to Brookhaven to check the robots out for ourselves.  

Click the video player above to get a look at this futuristic addition to Metro Atlanta’s booming culinary scene!