In August, Abbas Zoeb's sole server walked off the job at Wok & Karahi. Within 24 hours, the Spring restaurant owner had replaced the position with software.
Zoeb, a former Google engineer who runs the family-owned Chinese, Indian and Pakistani restaurant on FM 2920, built an AI host named Haniya that now greets diners, takes orders through QR codes at every table and answers the phone around the clock. FOX 26 Houston first reported the story on Oct. 20.
"It started out of desperation," Zoeb told Muslim Mirror, which also profiled the restaurant. "We could not keep begging one person to show up. Now nobody has to, and our guests and our team are better off for it."
No one has been hired since.
The system works like this: a guest sits down, scans a table code and chooses from seven languages, including English, Spanish, Urdu and Arabic. Haniya walks the guest through the menu by voice or tap. A note like "no onions" or "nut allergy" prints on the kitchen ticket exactly as the guest entered it. Guests pay from their phones with Apple Pay or Google Pay before the kitchen starts cooking.
The AI host also answers the phone when the restaurant is closed. More than one in four calls come in after hours, according to the restaurant's own data. Late-night catering callers who once found no one on the line now get their orders booked for the next day.
Zoeb claims the restaurant saves or recoups about $9,650 a month. About $3,500 of that is the eliminated server salary. The remaining $6,150 comes from what he describes as operational efficiencies and reclaimed revenue, including fewer lost catering orders and days the restaurant no longer has to close for lack of staff. The AI software itself costs about $300 a month to run.
Kitchen staff and the chef now receive 100% of customer tips.
The shift comes as restaurants nationwide face persistent staffing pressure. The National Restaurant Association's 2026 industry report found that nearly three-quarters of operators plan to hire but expect difficulty finding experienced managers and chefs. Last year, 42% of operators said their restaurant was not profitable.
Dietrich von Biedenfeld, a supply chain manager at the University of Houston-Downtown, told FOX 26 the approach has limits. "This seems like a very effective tool for a fast-food restaurant or a quick lunch spot, but for fine dining, the AI is only as good as the prompts," he said.
Zoeb has started selling the system to other independent restaurants through a company called AZ Restaurant Partners. Wok & Karahi is at 3422 FM 2920 Rd., Unit 120, in Spring.
