Beaverton’s futuristic sushi bar serves food by conveyor belt, drinks by robot

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, the futuristic restaurant chain known for its conveyor-belt-delivered meals, drink-serving robots and finished-plate prize dispensers opened its first Oregon location in Beaverton on Sept. 4.

While many sushi restaurants offer a revolving selection of pre-made sushi plates, Kura Revolving Sushi Bar uses “plate-tracking technology” to monitor how long plates are in rotation, ensuring the sushi is always fresh, the company says. The restaurant also offers a unique “express belt,” which sends menu items ordered by tablet straight to your table.

“The Express Belt is positioned above the primary belt,” the company said. “We refer to this as a ‘sushi highway,’ as guests can place orders using the touch panel tablet at their table and their food arrives directly to them from the kitchen. We have more than 100 menu offerings, but with our Express Belt system, you’ll always be able to enjoy your favorite plates without having to wait for them to come around on the primary belt.”

Drinks and condiments, meanwhile, are delivered to guests by robot. Restaurant employees simply load “ Kur-B the KuraBot ” with drink orders and the machine autonomously navigates busy restaurant aisles to serve thirsty customers.

When customers are finished with their plates, they can load the dirty dishes into the “Bikkura Pon” slots located at each table. Load enough plates into the slot and the system dispenses a mystery prize.

“The Bikkura Pon Prize System is an integral part of Kura Sushi USA’s innovative and tech interactive dining experience and is comprised of a prize machine, touch panel and plate disposal slot located at every table in the restaurant that are connected via sensors,” the company says. “The touch panel registers the number of sushi plates dispensed into the plate disposal slot. After every five plates inserted, a short animation will play on the touch panel and after every fifteen plates inserted, a prize will be dispensed from the prize machine.”

Kura Revolving Sushi Bar locations do not take reservations and operate on a waitlist system. Customers can view waitlist times and join the waitlist remotely using Kura Sushi app. The restaurant offers a 15-minute grace period after a waitlisted party is called.

The new restaurant is located in the Beaverton Town Square at 11703 Hillsdale Highway in Beaverton.

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