Here in the Bay Area, technology seems to rule everything, from companies to university campuses. With eatsa, a rapidly growing restaurant franchise, technology is now making a foray into the food industry. Found in multiple locations throughout the Bay, eatsa eschews cashiers in favor of customers ordering directly from their mobile app. Lucky for us, the restaurant recently opened up a Berkeley location.
Located at the former Crepes A-Go-Go storefront on Telegraph, the small quarters are perfect for this no-register, no-tables restaurant. Instead of having your order taken by cashiers, you simply open up the eatsa app either on your own smartphone or on the iPads at the door.
With a few taps, you add the items you want to your bag and pay with credit card. This digital ordering allows you to not only avoid the lines during lunch and dinner, but also request a specific pickup time, so you can just stop by the restaurant knowing your food will be ready.
In addition, the eatsa experience would not be complete without the teched-out pickup process. A fixture of Snapchat stories, a transparent cubby pops out when your food is ready. A touchscreen on the cubby displays your name and order, and with a quick tap, the cubby will automatically open to reveal your delicious meal. Tapping on a screen is literally the only thing you need to do to go from placing your order to receiving your meal.
If eatsa's unique technological experience isn't enough to attract hungry college students, its menu definitely is. Eatsa offers a variety of nutritious quinoa bowls and salads that are packed with hearty and healthy toppings, such as grilled portobello mushrooms and freshly fried falafel.
There are preset bowls like the Spice Market Bowl and Cantina Kale Salad, but you can also create your own from the wide selection of sauces, veggies, cheese, and more.
On top of that, every bowl and salad costs only $6.95, so you can have a high-tech experience and high quality meal for less than a Chipotle burrito (it'll probably be a little healthier too).
Whether it's to experience the teched-out ordering, or to just have some hearty, healthy bowls, a meal at eatsa should definitely be in your future.