For Restaurant Operators, By Restaurant Operators

To Our Customers and Partners,

At Pinto, we are on a mission to safeguard the future of restaurants through robotics. I want to take a moment to share with you why I founded Pinto, and why I believe our work together will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the restaurant industry. 

Our Story

My family owns a small restaurant chain in Los Angeles. Growing up, I saw firsthand the challenges that come with running a foodservice business. From managing staff, to handling inventory, and the endless pressure of keeping customers satisfied, my family has worked day and night to keep things running smoothly for over 30 years.

Most restaurants are single location businesses run by families like mine. Over the last few years, operators have been faced with rising operating costs and labor shortages. Many small and medium-sized restaurants are struggling to compete with larger chains. The National Restaurant Association’s 2024 State of the Restaurant Industry survey revealed 38% of US restaurants reported being unprofitable. Restaurants have addressed these challenges by adopting more front of house automation like online ordering and self-ordering kiosks; but, these technologies dilute the customer dining experience. When was the last time you had to place your own order just to be asked for a tip at the end of it?

Challenges of Running a Restaurant

As an engineer that dedicated the last 5 years of my career to commercializing self-driving cars, I realized the immense potential robotics have in giving restaurants the tools to overcome these challenges and more importantly; giving them more time to focus on what truly matters—creating great food and delivering excellent service.

We talked to hundreds of food service businesses to understand challenges they face in their kitchens. The problem we heard most frequently: managing prep work. Tasks like chopping, making sauces, and preparing all the base ingredients. From a technical perspective, prep work also plays well to a robot’s strengths of completing tedious and repetitive work. 

Our Solution

One prep task we saw at many restaurants with a large delivery and takeout business is filling and sealing portion cups with sauces and condiments. Our first product, the Portion Optimized Dispensing System, or PODS for short, automates this task ensuring each in a compact countertop device. 

PODS is the first of a full lineup of robots we are developing to address all your prep work needs. Together, we can create a future where technology helps restaurants stay alive, grow, and succeed. When you work with us, you onboard a team that works tirelessly creating tools for restaurant operators, by restaurant operators, to give you back time to spend with your family, friends, and customers. Our ultimate goal is to build robotic sous chefs so any restaurant can onboard Michelin level experience to their kitchen. As a foodie, it’s a future I’m certainly excited about. Thank you for joining us on this journey.