Local pizzeria using a cat robot to serve guests

(ABC 6 NEWS) – Robots continue to take on all kinds of work as technology advances and now one robot has made its debut in Rochester.

Bella is a cat robot that came to Tilda’s Pizzeria about two weeks ago.

"For our team members, it makes their job easier it’s another tool in our arsenal that we have, and then our day every day is we are always focused on guest service and how can we make the next day even better," Owner of Tilda’s Pizzeria, Linda Black said.

Tilda’s opened in July 2021 and this cat robot is adding a lot of purr-sonality to the restaurant.

"Adding this robot has been a lot of fun. Kids love it, but I gotta say I think adults love it even a little bit more," Black said.

Black has been in the restaurant business for many years and having Bella at Tilda’s is a test run for other restaurants she owns like the Smokin’Oak and Pi Wood Fired Pizza.

"We like to be leaders in our industry we don’t like to follow. Again that goes with how we can improve our service every day to our guests and how can we make our employee’s jobs easier," Black said.

Here’s how Bella works. When the food or drink is ready, it’s sent over to Bella. From there the server chooses which table it needs to go to and Bella heads on over.

There are four trays on Bella and the one with your food will light up in blue. Once the food or drink is delivered, you can thank Bella by petting her head.

Bella has cameras on the bottom of her to help her see where she is going, so if you get in her way she will either go around you or ask you to politely move.

She knows her way around the restaurant by markers on the ceiling.

You can visit Bella every day from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Tilda’s Pizzeria in Rochester.