Press Release
High Turnover and Dangerous: Why Major Quick Serve Restaurant Chains are Replacing Fry Cooks with an AI Robot
The most dangerous, hard-to-hire for role in the kitchen is the fry station. See how leading QSR brands are changing the narrative surrounding the industries most hard-to-hire for position.
November 18, 2025
Los Angeles, CA– Your fry station is costing you $86,000 a year. Or more.
That's not hyperbole. With 144% annual labor turnover, costly burn injuries, food waste, and the ever-growing expense from constantly training harder-to-find new workers, the average QSR fry station hemorrhages money. And it's the one position nobody wants to fill.
White Castle and other quick serve restaurant (QSR) leaders have found a better way.
Now deployed across __ states, Miso Robotics' AI-powered Flippy Fry Station robot continually achieves over 90% employee satisfaction, with validated new profits of over $75,000 per location and team members who are so attached to their robot coworker that they throw it a birthday party.
"With no upfront costs, every dollar spent on Flippy returns two to three times," said Rich Hull, CEO of Miso Robotics. "We can show you the exact dollar impact on your P&L from day one, including the new profits Flippy creates. And in a market where quick serve restaurants are struggling with reduced revenue, especially from declining visits by younger consumers, increased profitability is a matter of survival."
Numbers don’t lie - Flippy equals profit
A recent independent third-party study confirmed what many restaurant operators already knew: Flippy delivers real ROI. The breakdown: 89% reduction in fry station labor costs, over $5,000 in monthly incremental profit from faster service and eliminated food waste, and zero workers' compensation claims from fry station burns (the #1 injury claim in QSR).
Restaurant workers are 6.5 times more likely to suffer thermal burns than the average U.S. worker. Flippy eliminates that risk entirely, while operating 24/7 and processing up to 120 baskets per hour - twice as fast as human workers.
Employees working with Flippy also report added benefits, such as reduced walking by 87%, leaving them less exhausted at the end of shifts. They also cite less physical strain and more time focusing on customers instead of standing over a 350-degree fryer.
The Job Nobody Wants Just Got 200 Applications
A real surprise came when one restaurant changed its job posting from "fry cook needed" to "work with our kitchen robot," and applications jumped from zero to over 200.
Gen Z doesn't want to work fry stations the old way. But they do want to work with robots.
"The fry station is brutal work - burns, grease, repetitive strain," said Hull. "We automate that dangerous work so your team can focus on customers and quality. The result is happier employees, better service, and actual profit improvement."
Continuing its rollout of this newest generation, White Castle recently showcased Flippy as the fry station operator for its “Castle of Tomorrow” in Columbus, Ohio.
Built for Scale, Not Science Projects
Now multiple generations more advanced than its original prototypes first launched during the pandemic, the newest Flippy is now a battle-tested workhorse that’s reliable, fast, and affordable. The system installs overnight without kitchen remodeling, fits around existing fryers, and trains teams in under an hour.
The technology is backed by strategic partnerships with household names like NVIDIA (AI and robotics), Amazon (cloud infrastructure), and Roboworx (nationwide service network). It's protected by over 25 patents, manufactured in the United States for supply chain stability, and backed by over 100 years of trust through Miso’s strategic partnership with Ecolab.
"With each generation of Flippy, Miso spent over five years learning what restaurant operators actually need," said Hull. "The technology has to work on day one, not eventually. It has to fit in existing kitchens. And it has to deliver measurable ROI immediately. With the newest Flippy, that's what we built."
Ready Now
For QSR chains and franchisees interested in seeing how Flippy can transform their operations, Miso offers customized ROI analysis and virtual and in-person demonstrations.
Visitwww.misorobotics.com to learn more.
About Miso Robotics
Miso Robotics is scaling AI-powered kitchen automation across quick-service restaurant chains nationwide. Its Flippy Fry Station delivers validated ROI by automating the industry's most dangerous and hardest-to-staff position. With over 5 million baskets fried, strategic partnerships with NVIDIA and Amazon, and growing deployments at major chains including White Castle, Miso has established itself as the category leader in fry station automation. Protected by 25+ patents with U.S.-based manufacturing and nationwide service infrastructure, Miso is positioned for rapid scale. MisoRobotics.com .
Included In This Story
Miso Robotics
Delivering AI-powered technology that elevates human potential in the kitchen.
Through the AI-powered 'Flippy' fry station, Miso deploys proven AI automation that solves the fry station staffing crisis for high-volume restaurant chains. Flippy automates your entire fried menu operations end-to-end, the industry's most dangerous and hardest-to-staff position.
