At Two Bit Circus in Santa Monica, blending in with the Ms. Pac Man and other freestanding arcade games, far away from the crowded bartender counters sticky with fruit juice, is a beer-dispensing machine known as the ‘Beertender.’

The high-tech keg machine – imagine a soda fountain dispenser but with craft beer and other alcoholic beverages – is the newest product from downtown-based Rotender. The venture capital-backed drinks machine startup has found a home at stadiums, concert halls, casinos, cruises and other venues around the country.

Though the company combined “robot” and “bartender” for its namesake, it’s not quite like the drink-making machinery found in San Francisco and Las Vegas, where robotic arms swing like tentacles creating coffee concoctions and garnishing rims with citrus peels.

Los Angeles has become a bedrock for automated robotic technology that can cook, dispense and assemble. It comes at a time when the food and hospitality industry has faced thin margins, higher minimum wages, threats of tariffs and customers unwilling to pay premiums. Known for its food, nightclubs and entertainment venues, the city has already adopted restaurant technology in many forms – point-of-sale systems, food delivery platforms and learning management software.

“The industry has adopted technology for consistency, for compliance and for scalability,” said Joe O’Donnell, the board chair of the California Restaurant Association and the chief operating officer of Urban Plates. “It just makes sense in so many ways for efficiency and also for capacity – the technology allows you to produce more in a shorter window of time.”

Kitchen tech startups flourished in 2021, according to PitchBook. The industry saw 50 venture deals during that year alone, as the pandemic highlighted the public’s reliance on restaurants and hospitality, and the ongoing struggle for restaurants to operate.

Kitchen robotics is gaining some popularity in the venture world. Two-thirds of kitchen tech deals so far in 2025 have been robot-related, making up 96% of funding in the space.

The robotic bartender

Ben Winston has a long history of creating venture-backed companies before co-founding Rotender in 2020. Jolt Delivery, a Santa Monica-based food delivery startup, is one of his biggest successes.

His company conducted 10% of food deliveries in Los Angeles before Uber Eats and Postmates hit the L.A. streets to – in his words – “set a billion dollars on fire to wipe us out and take the L.A. market.”

Feeling the stress of being a co-founder and chief technology officer for Jolt, particularly with formidable, cash-laden competitors on his block, he came up with his next business venture after many instances of standing in line for nearly 30 minutes at concerts and sporting events, just to get a no-frills beer or mixed drink. Rotender was born.

The company has set up shop at high-volume venues like the Greek Theater in Griffith Park, the Toyota Arena in Ontario and the Reserve nightclub and Omni Hotel in downtown. The Rotender can also be found on a cruise line that “apparently” serves an average of eight drinks per customer a day for the first four days. But don’t worry, Winston quipped: “After that, it tapers off to like two or three because they get tired.”

Rotender also inked partnership deals with Jim Beam and Diageo and even served JAJA Tequila at a party for the music duo, The Chainsmokers.

“We’re not going to be like the mixologist. We’re not going to be in a Cheers situation ‘where everybody knows your name,’ and you’re at the corner bar and you’re like, ‘Oh, this bartender makes the drink exactly the way I like it,’” Winston said. “You have no relationship with the bartender in these cases.”

A growing industry

Indeed, the Rotender’s technology is not explicitly made to accommodate craft cocktails  with ‘just a splash of cranberry juice’ requests or even visually stunning drinks with a rosemary sprig delicately leaning against the edge.

Many use cases for robotics in the food industry are largely catered to quick-service restaurants – chain fast food and fast-casual dining establishments that prioritize volume and consistency. These spots operate in many different locations.

Looking at other robotic groups

Miso Robotics began in 2016 by a group of California Institute of Technology students. The company, based in Pasadena, has raised over $125 million in funding, according to PitchBook. It started out with its first product, known as Flippy, which essentially could flip burgers. Now, the company provides restaurants with an automated fry station meant to crisp chicken, French fries and other deep-fried fever dream the American heart desires.

Miso Robotics works with fast-food chains like White Castle and Jack in the Box, both of which have a high volume of fried food that needs to be consistent in taste no matter where the chain is located.

“They have a high percentage of fried food, there’s a labor crunch, and the margins just don’t make sense without some sort of automation,” said Alana Abbitt, the chief product officer at Miso Robotics. “They’re really looking for consistency, quality, and repurposing that labor to be more customer facing.”

If Miso Robotics and Rotender are creating understated or back-of-the-house robots for food and drinks services, the Infinite Kitchen from Jefferson Park-based Sweetgreen is only slightly more theatrical. The salad chain has been experimenting with robots to assemble its limited-ingredient bowls, “leveraging automation to improve speed and consistency, all while reducing labor intensity,” chief executive Jonathan Neman said during an earnings call.

The robot uses an automated assembly-line system where bowls on conveyor belts pass under ingredients that are dispensed in consistent proportions in front of the customer. Sweetgreen did not return requests for comment.

Limitations of the robots

“If you have a limited menu, let’s say you’re a burger restaurant and all you make is burgers and fries, and you make them the same way every time, I think there’s a strong case for robotics in those situations,” O’Donnell said

But there are some limitations that restaurants must consider when deploying robotics. This includes allergens and cross-contamination and the ability to customize food. Also, there’s the barrier to entry. Robots can be expensive for an industry that operates on razor-thin margins.

Both Rotender and Miso Robotics operate on a leasing model, and Rotender also employs a revenue sharing model in certain cases. To plug its drink-making machine into venues, Rotender has to work with skeptical unions and educate companies on how to operate the machine, like troubleshooting problems and refilling the drink components.

“It’s really important that the hospitality industry is known for creating memorable experiences, and you’re never (going to) substitute that social interaction from one team member or your server or your bartender with a robot,” O’Donnell said. “That’s the core essence of the hospitality industry, is creating memories around great food, great ambiances.”