VICTOR, N.Y. — The pandemic has stretched many restaurants to the limits, as many of them continue to look for good workers. A Victor restaurant has turned to technology to help take the stress off of servers. It’s a robot that's being billed as the first-of-its-kind in the Finger Lakes.

Working in the restaurant business often requires some heavy lifting. Servers at The Distillery in Victor are getting some help with that.

It’s a futuristic concept. A robot that delivers meals from the kitchen to the table.

“Guests love it,” said general manager Erin Leffler. “It goes to their table and tells them that their food is being delivered.”

The robot works with GPS. Table assignments are programmed in. Once delivered to tables, the server takes the food off of the robot, which can also be used to take dirty dishes back to the kitchen.

The restaurant robot has a name — “Stilly.” It was chosen in a customer contest. The server bot is seen as a complement to the wait staff, not a replacement.

“It does help out the people we do have working on,” said Leffler. “We did go through staffing shortages, as all restaurants did.” 

On a recent trip to The Distillery, many customers seemed fascinated by the new technology.

“It’s very cool,” said Janet Oaks of Phelps. “We were hoping it wouldn’t replace the waitresses. but that’s pretty cool.”

Restaurants are busy places. Sensors make "Stilly" stop if something’s in the way. The Distillery plans to add more robots, both in Victor, and possibly other restaurants in the chain.