The world’s leading producer of robotic bartenders, Makr Shakr, has teamed up with high-end beverage company GlacierFire to open a bar in Northern Europe that explores how the leisure and hospitality industries might positively adapt to the strict health requirements or the post-COVID-19 era.
The ICE+FRIES bar has inaugurated in the capital city of Iceland and features a series of advanced technological elements, including the latest model of Makr Shakr’s automated cocktail maker, Toni. With Iceland being one of the very first countries around the globe to enter the post-lockdown “new normal,” this project offers a glimpse of hope to the many bars, restaurants, and hotels internationally that are set to restart their activity in a drastically changed world over the upcoming weeks.
ICE+FRIES, located in the heart of the capital city of Reykjavik, opens to a scenic view of the harbor. The bar features Makr Shakr’s latest model of robotic bartender, Toni. The robot’s two mechanical arms can perform a range of motions such as shaking, stirring and muddling, so as to prepare and serve drinks while complying with all the rules of sanitization and social distancing.
Customers can place their drink orders through the tablets or counters and receive confirmation via SMS or email. The robotic bartender can produce 150 beverages per hour. The patrons can pick amongst 20,000 recipes to customize their own drinks, resulting in a more personal mixologist experience. Makr Shakr’s Toni provides visitors with a memorable experience in full safety, as the cocktails are entirely produced by robotic arms that are carefully sanitized after each serving. The drinks are served in disposable cups and placed directly at the robot’s counter area at an appropriate distance for people to pick them up safely.
At the heart of this scenario, ICE+FRIES stands out as a case study for the positive impact that robotic technology can have on operation and customer experience in the hospitality business. This could be a testing ground of what the future of dining out may look like in the following years as businesses strive to adapt to health precautions that are likely to remain in place for years to come. Presented as the most advanced robotic restaurant in the world, ICE+FRIES is also equipped with 3D printers for the food and drinks, a bionic AI-powered dog that jumps around patrons, wagging its tail for a pat, as well interactive seating areas for immersive sound experiences.
While Makr Shakr’s robots have been installed and served customers in various locations across four continents – from Prague to Dubai, to Las Vegas – and on Royal Caribbean’s cruises, ICE+FRES is the first bar to be powered by Makr Shakr in Northern Europe. Spring 2020 also marks the reopening of Makr Shakr’s flagship store in Italy, the View by Makr Shakr Rooftop, a bar run in partnership with Townhouse Hotels on a terrace overlooking Milan’s Piazza del Duomo, the city’s main square.
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Makr Shakr Press Release
Photo credits: GlacierFire
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