The interior of Eatsa’s now-closed D.C. location. (Photo by Joy Asico)

Eatsa, the robo-restaurant that promised quinoa bowls without having to talk to a human, announced today that it is powering down its D.C. outpost after just shy of one year.

The fast-casual eatery arrived on K Street last fall, a modern expanse of iPads and glowing food receptacles. Customers punched their orders in and the food arrived—a taste of the future that the Jetsons promised us.

So what happened? According to Eatsa, they were so-focused on their expanding empire that they neglected to make sure they got the dishes right.

“We now realize that we expanded our retail footprint too quickly,” the company said in a statement today. “In particular, operating in four different markets has made it difficult to quickly test and iterate our food product — something that is critical in any restaurant business, but is even more important when it comes to introducing a new type of nutritious fare.”

The company started in San Francisco (where else?) before expanding to New York, Berkeley, and the District. All but the two San Francisco locations are now closed. Eatsa says it will keep testing dishes in the hopes of “[resuming] our retail expansion in the future.”

Previously:
First Look: Eatsa’s Quick, Affordable Quinoa Bowls Land on K Street
Fast-Casual Shop With Quinoa Bowls And Limited Human Interaction Opens Downtown In Late November