Of all the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the labor model, one of the more lasting ones may be the acceleration of the adoption of technology. White Castle is experimenting with Flippy the robot, which can handle a lot of back-of-the-house duties. This week on the Working Lunch podcast, the team from Align Public Strategies discusses what this could mean going forward.

Speaking of labor, the pandemic may have also put the nail in the coffin of the no-tipping movement. Danny Meyer of the Union Square Hospitality Group pulled the plug on their no-tipping policy; instead, the group will move to a more traditional tip-sharing model. Align Public Strategies looks at how that will impact the national conversation on tips.

Working Lunch wraps up with the weekly legislative scorecard.

Working Lunch · Episode 174: Pandemic Hastens Arrival of Restaurant Robots

Align Public Strategies is a full-service public affairs and creative firm that helps corporate brands, governments and nonprofits navigate the outside world and inform their internal decision-making. This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of Nation's Restaurant News or Restaurant Hospitality.