News

uWink opens first self-service restaurant

November 5, 2006

Seeking Alpha: Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, has opened his first uWink bistro in Woodland Hills, Calif. The restaurant is centered on self-service ordering, with touchscreens located at each table. Use of the touchscreen for ordering makes possible the real-time monitoring of consumption trends, the display of relevant advertising (deals with Red Bull, Evian and Stockholm Vodka have already been announced), and personalized recommendations based on analysis of users' order history.

Based on the amount of food or drink that is ordered, patrons receive a number of credits that can be used to play video games on the monitors at their tables. Other media that will be accessible from the tabletop screens include trivia quizzes, horoscopes, movie trailers, music videos, comedy skits, and magic tricks. The company's philosophy is to foster "social gaming" and activities in which customers can participate as a group as opposed to the normal arcade setup, where people split up and play different games (i.e. Dave & Buster's).

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