In the midst of staffing shortages and rising bills, many restaurants are looking to automation in order to cut costs. Some have installed self-service ordering screens, others have employed robots to take away dirty plates. But one restaurant is taking this idea to the extreme.
EZ 24 Ramen, set to open in Oxford later this year, will be the UK’s first totally staffless restaurant. Instead of the usual format, diners will pay a subscription for 24-hour access. Having used an entry code to get in, they can then help themselves to noodles and toppings like eggs, pickles, kimchi, mushrooms, bean sprouts and fish cakes. Aside from the noodles and toppings, vending machines will supply drinks, ice cream and meal kits.
In terms of pricing, a single-day pass will cost just £1.70. Monthly passes will allow 40 visits per month, although their price tag hasn’t been announced yet. Each visit, diners can stay as long as they like, and are even encouraged to bring laptops and game consoles.
As if the idea wasn’t futuristic enough, EZ 24 Ramen will also be minting a collection of 5000 NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Once launched, the starting price will be 0.15eth, which works out to about £192 at time of writing. If this sounds steep, it’s worth mentioning that each NFT comes with free, unlimited access to all EZ 24 Ramen restaurants. However, the Oxford site will be the first of its kind, so non-Oxonians may want to hold onto their crypto until the chain expands.
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Co-founder Indra Tor, who describes herself as obsessed with both NFTs and food, said: "I wanted to create a forward-thinking place that looks at how people live their lives today. The world has changed, and people's habits are different.”
“EZ Ramen is about being forward-thinking about technology and how we can create a restaurant that is different and embraces new things but also allows people to learn. There's a lot of negatively sometimes around new tech, and we want to show people in an organic setting that if done right, the tech can be used to great effect and of course serve them some good ramen."
If all this talk has got you hungry, head to one of these top ramen restaurants in London.