Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Touch Screen Ordering to Revolutionize Dining!
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 10, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 10, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The company that founded Chuck E. Cheese, which famously replaced lazy live musicians with ruthlessly efficient animatronic animals, now has their sights trained right on your server. According to this breathlessly excited vision of the future, soon “a new trend will be found at your favorite restaurants”! [Emphasis added.] Computerized touch screen ordering at your table is destined to radically marginalize the entire restaurant service industry, liberating diners from the bondage of inattentive service and tedious chit-chat with the help. Best of all, you don’t have to tip a touch screen! Oh, and there’s games, too! And ads!
Developed by uWink, the technology has thus far been rolled out in a L.A. restaurant of the same name, where local customer Amanda Rosengarten deemed it “cooler” dealing with a living person. uWink plans to expand the restaurant franchise rapidly, with New York a logical next step toward the goal of totally eradicating human interaction. Though hand-wringing critics “fear the trend will lead to less attentive waiters”, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association insists that “many of these systems actually have controls in them which can summon the wait staff upon demand.”
What would be even cooler would be to attach electronic collars to the staff that could generate a mild electric shock when assistance was needed. (Perhaps growing in voltage the longer you wait?) And until restaurants install table-side pneumatic tubes to whisk food to diners, a human element will still be necessary to actually fetch the orders. And ask you if you’re still working on that.
Photo of uWink touchscreen by L.A. & O.C. Foodadventures, who has a review of the L.A. location.
Tagged
best of
Chuck
Chuck E
future
national restaurant association
new york
restaurant
restaurant association
restaurants
the future
touch screen ordering
uWink
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Oct 10, 2026
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .