Everything about Automat totally explained
An
Automat is a fast food
restaurant where simple foods and drink are served by coin-operated and bill-operated
vending machines. Originally, the machines took only nickels but modern automat vending machines accept bills. In the original format, a cashier would sit in a change booth in the center of the restaurant, behind a wide marble counter with five to eight rounded depressions in it. She would serve many customers at once, taking their money from the depressions and dropping nickels in its place. The diner would insert the required number of coins and then slide open a window to remove the meal, which was generally wrapped in waxed paper. The machines were filled from the kitchen behind. They are still very common in
The Netherlands, but outside of there, few exist. The
last one closed in the United States in
1991. However in
2006, an automat,
BAMN
, opened in
New York City's
East Village.
Unlike modern
vending machines, food was served on real
dishes with metal utensils, and drinks in glasses.
Inspired by the Quisiana Automat in
Berlin, the first automat in the U.S. was opened
June 12,
1902 at 818 Chestnut St. in
Philadelphia by
Horn & Hardart. The automat was brought to
New York City in
1912 and gradually became part of
popular culture in northern industrial cities. Horn & Hardart was the most prominent automat chain.
The format was threatened by the growth of
suburbs and the rise of
fast food restaurants catering to cars (with their drive-thru windows) in the
1950s; by the
1970s their remaining appeal was strictly
nostalgic. Another contributing factor to their demise was undoubtedly the inflation of the 1960s and 70s, making the food too expensive to be bought conveniently with coins, in a time before bill acceptors commonly appeared on vending equipment.
Another form of the Automat was used on some
passenger trains, the last
United States example being an Automat car on Amtrak's short-lived service to
Janesville, Wisconsin in 2001. These were limited by mechanical problems, since the machines weren't necessarily intended for the bumpy ride on the rails, and state laws that prohibited
alcoholic beverages from being sold by a machine.
The automat food format is still popular in some other countries. For example,
FEBO stores in
The Netherlands, where the automat is called
Automatiek, provide a variety of
burgers, sandwiches, and
krokets in vending machines that are back-loaded from a kitchen.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Automat'.
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