When he was 9 years old, Alex Vardakostas started working at his parents’ fast-food restaurant in southern California, where he experienced firsthand the mindless repetition of flipping burgers. “Let’s be honest, it’s not the culmination of the human spirit,” said Vardakostas, now 33. His experience led him to a career in robotics; with machines, he hoped to automate the most menial tasks, freeing people up for more creative pursuits.

On June 27, he and Steven Frehn, a mechanical engineer, will open Creator, a San Francisco...