Rebolt: The AI Revolution Transforming Restaurant Management

In an industry as fast-paced and high-pressure as the restaurant business, time is money, and operational efficiency can make or break a business. Rebolt was founded in 2025 to address a pervasive and costly problem faced by restaurant owners: managerial overhead, inefficiency, and revenue loss caused by operational fragmentation and customer fraud. One of the earliest problems Rebolt tackled was delivery app refund fraud. A restaurant chain owner, and close friend of the founders, reported that they were losing up to 7% of their revenue to fraudulent refund claims via platforms like UberEats and DoorDash. Despite having a dedicated employee at each location to manage disputes manually, it wasn’t enough. These losses, combined with the administrative burden, made profitability a challenge.

How Did Rebolt Begin Solving These Challenges?

The first product Rebolt built was aimed directly at automating the refund dispute process. By providing kitchen staff with a simple app to take pictures of outgoing delivery orders, Rebolt enabled its AI to verify the accuracy of each order against the items listed. This AI-powered verification allowed the system to automatically challenge and reverse fraudulent refund claims. The impact was immediate: up to 94% of refunds were recovered, manual work was significantly reduced, and restaurant operators gained unprecedented visibility into their delivery operations.

This initial success highlighted a broader issue: the fragmented and outdated nature of restaurant operations. Most tasks were still being completed through spreadsheets, repetitive emails, and inconsistent software tools. For the Rebolt team, this disorganization presented the perfect opportunity for AI automation.

What Is Rebolt Building Today?

Today, Rebolt is more than just a refund management tool. The startup is building full-fledged AI agents to replace traditional restaurant managers, handling a wide spectrum of tasks that once required human oversight. These AI systems streamline operations and empower restaurant owners to deliver better service with leaner teams.

Some of Rebolt’s key features include:

• Automated Refund Disputes: The original offering has been refined and now works seamlessly across multiple delivery platforms like DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, and Deliveroo.
• Order Verification: Rebolt's AI models proactively identify discrepancies between the prepared order and what was input into the system, helping prevent mistakes before they occur.
• Centralized Analytics: Instead of managing data from multiple delivery apps separately, Rebolt consolidates all analytics into a single dashboard.
• Hiring Automation: From AI resume screening to conducting candidate phone screenings, Rebolt removes friction from the hiring process.
• Supplier Communication: AI agents now handle repetitive vendor interactions, automating email correspondence and phone calls while maintaining comprehensive logs for transparency.

Who Are the Founders Behind Rebolt?

Rebolt was founded by Celia Manzano and Javier Sanchez, two experienced professionals who bring deep technical and strategic knowledge to the startup.

• Celia Manzano (CEO): A former Salesforce Cloud Architect, Celia led complex client accounts ranging from $150K to $3M. Her understanding of scalable enterprise solutions has proven crucial in adapting AI to fit the operational needs of restaurants.
• Javier Sanchez (CTO): Previously a software engineer at Ubuntu and founding engineer at Stack AI (YC W23), Javier played a pivotal role in building their enterprise AI platform. At Stack AI, he helped grow the company from $30K in monthly recurring revenue to $2M in annual recurring revenue. His experience in building AI platforms from the ground up has shaped the technical architecture of Rebolt’s AI agents.

How Is Rebolt Performing So Far?

Since its inception, Rebolt has made remarkable progress. It is currently deployed in 97 restaurants and has helped operators recover substantial revenue while significantly reducing operational load. Restaurants using Rebolt report not only savings in time and labor but also improved customer service outcomes and a better understanding of where inefficiencies occur.

The key to this success lies in Rebolt’s user-centric design: it doesn’t require restaurants to change their workflow dramatically. Instead, it plugs into their existing systems and processes, augmenting them with automation. This means that even smaller restaurants with limited resources can take advantage of Rebolt’s technology without the need for costly IT overhauls or additional infrastructure.

Why Is the Restaurant Industry Ripe for AI Automation?

The restaurant industry has long relied on a mix of manual processes, inconsistent tech solutions, and high turnover to get by. While some chains have adopted POS systems or basic inventory software, many still rely on human labor for tasks that can be easily automated. The cost of this inefficiency is often buried in wasted labor hours, preventable human errors, and missed opportunities.

Moreover, customer expectations have evolved. With the rise of food delivery and digital-first experiences, restaurants are expected to perform with the speed and accuracy of tech-enabled businesses—something most aren’t structurally equipped for. Rebolt bridges this gap with AI-powered tools that allow restaurant owners to compete in a tech-forward landscape without the need for costly infrastructure changes.

Another significant advantage of AI automation is the potential to reduce staff burnout. Restaurant managers often juggle multiple roles, from staffing and scheduling to vendor communication and customer service. By offloading these responsibilities to AI agents, Rebolt helps create a more sustainable work environment and allows human employees to focus on high-impact, creative, or interpersonal aspects of the business.

What Does the Future Hold for Rebolt?

Rebolt’s vision is to fully replace the restaurant manager with AI agents that can handle everything from HR to vendor relations to quality control. As the platform matures, the team aims to integrate even more deeply with delivery platforms, payroll systems, and supply chain providers. Their ultimate goal is to offer a single platform through which restaurants can operate efficiently with minimal managerial oversight.

Looking ahead, Rebolt plans to expand its reach beyond the current network of 97 restaurants. They are actively exploring partnerships with large chains and franchised operations that could benefit from centralized automation solutions. By scaling their technology, Rebolt hopes to influence the future of restaurant operations on a global scale.

The long-term opportunity is vast. With tens of thousands of independent restaurants across the U.S. alone, the market for restaurant operations software, especially one enhanced by AI, is massive. By continuing to focus on automation, Rebolt is positioned to become the go-to operations layer for modern restaurants.

Why Does Rebolt Matter Now?

Labor shortages, rising operational costs, and shifting consumer behavior have all created a perfect storm for the restaurant industry. In such an environment, reducing friction and maximizing efficiency isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential for survival.

Rebolt offers restaurant owners a competitive edge by reducing overhead, eliminating errors, and freeing up staff to focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional food and service. In doing so, they are not just replacing managers—they’re reimagining what restaurant operations can look like in an AI-driven future.

Rebolt isn’t just responding to a trend; it’s shaping the next generation of how restaurants operate. As the company continues to grow, it may soon become a cornerstone of efficient, tech-enabled hospitality management worldwide.