'It's really cool,' Barrie diner showcases robot server

There's a new employee at Cora's restaurant in Barrie.

'Walle' is a robot that serves and delivers food to tables.

Owner Felix Yang said he first saw the robot at a restaurant in Toronto and knew he wanted one for his diner.

"When the robot moves in the restaurant, half the restaurant's eyes are on it. Everyone looks at it, 'that's interesting,' and kids are so excited. The customer requests, 'I need my food delivered by the robot,'" says Yang.

But the handy helper didn't come cheap. Yang says he purchased the robot for over $20,000 from a specialty company in Vancouver.

"I think it's definitely worth it to do it. The way I see it, it really increases efficiency," says Yang.

Here's how it works.

Servers load the food on Walle's trays, and illuminated dots on the ceiling signal it where to go through a sensor.

"It helps the waitresses in many ways because they don't have to hold the hot dishes," says one patron. "Years ago, I was a waitress myself, and I could have used one of those."

'Walle' is a robot server working at Cora's in Barrie, Ont. (Catalina Gillies/CTV News)

Initially, the servers expressed mixed emotions when Yang first brought the idea of the robot forward.

"At first, we were all like, this is ridiculous. We don't need to get a robot. But now it's really growing on all of us," says server Ashley Handy.

Staff say the robot allows them more time to connect with customers and focus on the guest experience.

"If you have a big table, you can bring everything all at once. You don't have to make multiple trips. Of course, you don't want to get lazy with it, but it's really helpful. It's great," says Handy.

Yang says the robot has also attracted a lot of new customers.

"It's really cool to see that. He's got the little smiley face and the heart-shaped eyes. It's really something different that wants to make you come back here," says another patron.

So far, Cora's is the only restaurant in Barrie to hire a robot like this.

Despite Walle's growing popularity, Yang says he has no plans to add more robots to his staff any time soon.