Today in Restaurant and Grocery Tech: ChowNow Aims to Do It All; Jamba Goes Robotic

Today in restaurant and grocery tech news, ChowNow aims to be restaurants’ one-stop-shop for omnichannel digital ordering, while Jamba opens its second robotic location. Plus, digitally savvy restaurants struggle to move forward, bogged down by the pen-and-paper systems used by other businesses across the supply chain.

ChowNow Joins Tech Providers Aiming to Alleviate Restaurants’ Digital Growing Pains

Restaurant operators are fed up with managing their disparate mess of digital solutions, and tech providers are noting the opportunity. On Tuesday (Oct. 5), online ordering platform ChowNow announced a new product, its “Order Better Network,” which quickly makes restaurants’ menus available across an expansive suite of digital marketplaces and social networks, integrating ordering buttons to drive conversion.

Jamba Takes Advantage of Self-Service Demand to Ease Labor Challenges with Robotic Kiosks

Robots are stepping in to fill the holes left by the restaurant industry’s labor shortage. On Wednesday (Oct. 6), Jamba (nee Jamba Juice) announced the opening of the second location of its robotic smoothie kiosk pilot. The kiosk is at a mall in Downey, California, and it comes 10 months after the Blendid Jamba collaboration, which opened inside a Walmart in Dixon, California late in 2020.

Large Restaurant Operators Lament Payment, Ordering Delays With Non-Digitized Small Suppliers

While restaurants have been slow to digitize, savvy operators have sought out automated solutions to optimize back-office efficiency. Yet a (supply) chain is only as strong as its weakest link — even these forward-thinkers are subject to the challenges of dealing with suppliers’ pen-and-paper accounting, Brandon Stewart, president and chief operating officer at Jimmy John’s franchisee Kensington Hill Capital, tells PYMNTS in an interview.