Goodbye bartenders, hello robots: How pandemic has changed concept of bars

To be sure, robotic mixologists won't solve the risk of close quarters - which is part of what makes bars ideal hotspots for transmitting the virus

Fear of enclosed spaces and sloppy, less-than-socially distanced crowds may change drinking culture for a long time to come. It’s already threatening the future of your friendly bartender.

Countertop cocktail makers were here for years. Larger-scale commercial options have been mixing drinks and entertainment, using robotic arms to shake cocktails in clubs from Europe to Dubai and aboard cruise ships. But the pandemic may have opened up a bigger stage.

A woman placing her face mask down on an empty bar and clinking glasses with a robotic bartender was not your typical drinking ad before Covid-19. But in a time when fellow