# Does anyone remember Automats? Did you ever eat at one? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555 "2010-12-17T20:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/21 "2010-12-19T13:29:50Z")
I think there’s still an automat near where I live on Long Island. I’ve never eaten there but driven past it several times. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/22 "2010-12-19T16:17:22Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I remember now. Monday through Thursday, I had macaroni & cheese and baked beans. Friday was pay day, so I could afford to get chicken pot pie. The little doors took nickels, and there was a booth with a lady who exchanged your money for nickels. I always looked for buffalo nickels, and occasionally found one (this was in 1964). > > Yes, this is what it was like living in NYC, and working for minimum wage. > > There was an Automat at (I think) 5th Avenue and 34th, around the corner from the Empire State Building. It was actually in the basement, and was all black marble and chrome. Very art deco. So without spending a lot, you could dine in a really elegant environment. Were you able to cook at all? Sounds like you were dining out (though cheaply) every night. I don’t remember these places at all but I moved out of the Bronx in 1971. I don’t know if my parents ever took us out to eat not counting Sunday’s at my grandmothers. By the time I was a teen and visiting NYC as such, they were gone. I really only remember them from a few TV shows and movies. _That Girl_ in particular. She was too broke for more than a cup of coffee and a bowl of hot water and made ketchup soup I think. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/23 "2010-12-19T18:09:51Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Used to go all the time to the one in Philly (Chestnut Street?) with my grandfather. Loved the mac and cheese and the hard rolls. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Yes it was on Chestnut, south side somewhere around 8th St. AFAIK, it was the only automat in Philly, although there were plenty of H&H’s mostly cafeteria style (there were three, I think, with waitress services, one at 54th and City Line). In the 40s and early 5os, my mother was severely agoraphobic (she got over it by around '55) and would shop by phone from Gimbels mostly, they would deliver using their own delivery trucks and every Saturday (I heavily exaggerate here, but it seems like it was every Saturday) I would return most of the crap she bought to the store. Then I treated myself to a meal at the automatic. My recollection is that the food was pretty mediocre. Same with the cafeterias. The waitress-served places might have been a bit better. I don’t think I was in an automat after the early 50s. Coffee was a nickel in those days. > > PDQ Bach invented an instrument he called a hardart and wrote a concerto for horn and hardart. It was definitely on Chesnut, but my recollection (from the mid '60s) is that it was on the other side of Broad, on the corner of 16th, IIRC. My mom used to go to the auction at Freeman’s (18th St.) and we’d go to the automat for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/24 "2010-12-19T19:48:19Z")
Oh, yes, as a kid during the 1930s, we ate in one now and then when we lived in Manhattan. Times were tough, and you could get a sandwich for a couple of nickles, and a cup of coffee (for my mom) for five cents. That fascinated me, as she put a nickle in ths slot, a cup underneath, and pressed a button. Out came the coffee, and miracle of miracles, it filled the cup and then stopped. It was fun putting the nickles in the slot for a sandwich, then the little glass door popped open, and I could take out the sandwich on a plate. The joke years later was that a guy from Las Vegas was going from door to door, and taking his sandwich to the table. When had about a dozen, another patron asked why he kept getting so many sandwiches. The guy replied, “Hey, I can’t quit when I winning.” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/25 "2010-12-19T20:34:18Z")
Probably ate at my first one in or about 1954. NYC. We lived in Arlington VA. but my dad worked weird hours and loved to travel. We would go to NY City for the weekend at the drop of a hat. Stayed at the Piccadilly Hotel near Times Square. Ate at the automat as a treat. Ate there last in 1964–went up for the World’s Fair. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/26 "2010-12-19T20:45:45Z")
My family went to that World’s Fair, I wasn’t born yet though. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/27 "2010-12-19T21:23:19Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > There are plenty of them in the Netherlands. You can find them in gas stations, train stations, and some locations in the streets of the big cities (Rotterdam, for instance). They are mostly from the chain “FEBO”. Some photos: > > [http://www.theredstove.com/photos/uncategorized/automat.jpg](http://www.theredstove.com/photos/uncategorized/automat.jpg) > > [http://www.wayn.com/waynphotos.html?wci=photo&photo\_key=19013737&member=7894924#pkey=19013737](http://www.wayn.com/waynphotos.html?wci=photo&photo_key=19013737&member=7894924#pkey=19013737) > > [Welcome TrekEarth users! - FlyerTalk Forums](http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/111/amsterdam_2006_2382.jpg) I’m not sure that’s the same thing. Are those machines continually restocked with fresh food from a kitchen behind them? Do they actually contain hot food or do you have to microwave it? We still have vending machines in the U.S and some of them have things like sandwiches and pies, but they’re not hot or straight from the kitchen and I wouldn’t call them automats. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/28 "2010-12-19T21:24:27Z")
I have vague memories of eating at the H&H in Philly when I was a child but I really don’t remember it well. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/29 "2010-12-19T22:10:34Z")
Don’t know who operated it but I recall getting food out of an Automat in Chicago when I was a kid. Might have been in the Museum of Science & Industry. I did see a very small Automat, about a tenth the size of the one pictured, somewhere around Times Square in 1981. Didn’t use it, though. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/30 "2010-12-19T22:20:22Z")
I ate in an automat probably Horn and Hardat right after I saw Star Wars for the first time as a child and have always connected the two fondly. I always thought of the automat as something they would have in the Star Wars universe, in a Space Port where Han Solo would be waiting to have the Falcon fueled up. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/31 "2010-12-19T22:37:11Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Yes it was on Chestnut, south side somewhere around 8th St. AFAIK, it was the only automat in Philly, although there were plenty of H&H’s mostly cafeteria style (there were three, I think, with waitress services, one at 54th and City Line). In the 40s and early 5os, my mother was severely agoraphobic (she got over it by around '55) and would shop by phone from Gimbels mostly, they would deliver using their own delivery trucks and every Saturday (I heavily exaggerate here, but it seems like it was every Saturday) I would return most of the crap she bought to the store. Then I treated myself to a meal at the automatic. My recollection is that the food was pretty mediocre. Same with the cafeterias. The waitress-served places might have been a bit better. I don’t think I was in an automat after the early 50s. Coffee was a nickel in those days. > [@twickster](#): > > It was definitely on Chesnut, but my recollection (from the mid '60s) is that it was on the other side of Broad, on the corner of 16th, IIRC. My mom used to go to the auction at Freeman’s (18th St.) and we’d go to the automat for lunch. Win-Win. You’re both probably correct. I’ll link to a page showing pics of the multiple locations in Philly. > **[Google Search](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fl_ABJ4I4S8J:fieldnotesphilly.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F24%2Funlisted-horn-hardart%2F%2Bphiladelphia%2Bautomat%2Bchestnut%2B-automatic&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us)** ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/32 "2010-12-19T22:40:44Z")
I have. The novelty was a plus, but the mood was a minus. There is an alternative way of looking at them: they are like a vending machine, but you put food in and money comes out. You can make a living with this. Understand that you have to be on the staff side of the wall for this way of looking at them to work. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/33 "2010-12-19T22:52:32Z")
My maternal grandparents met at an Automat. (Both of them are now gone.) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/34 "2010-12-20T08:32:51Z")
I also recall going to one once in NYC…not exactly sure where it was, but think it was on the same street as Carnegie Hall? Few blocks east? Had seen them so often in films I just sort of wandered in and tried something - I don’t even think I was particularly hungry, but just wanted to see how it worked. I was unimpressed - reminded me of a somewhat better than average high school cafeteria as far as food selection. And yeah, the people hanging out there that day looked like they were from a local retirement home, and it was not exactly a cheery atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/35 "2010-12-20T13:28:23Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I’m not sure that’s the same thing. Are those machines continually restocked with fresh food from a kitchen behind them? Do they actually contain hot food or do you have to microwave it? Yes, they’re hot & ready to eat, and restocked by the kitchen staff (the machines contain stuff like hamburgers, croquettes and frikadels - you can get some drinks and fries from the counter). If you’re ever in the Netherlands, these shops are easy to find. Many train stations have them, and the above mentioned [FEBO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEBO) shops are fairly common in the larger cities. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/36 "2010-12-20T13:55:22Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > What made them become closed or unpopular? One word: McDonald’s. Fast food restaurants took their place for a quick, cheap meal. In addition, they ran into trouble when the had to raise prices. Vending machines didn’t accept dollar bills back in the 70s. You could get change for a dollar, but the readers only used to make change. I would expect they were too expensive to put on every slot in the automat. So you’d have to either have a pocketful of change, or run your dollar bills through the changer and then carry the coins to the slot. Too much hassle when you could go to Burger King and have it your way. Also, Horn and Hardart only had automats in a few cities. They never expanded nationally. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/37 "2010-12-20T15:35:18Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Yes, they’re hot & ready to eat, and restocked by the kitchen staff (the machines contain stuff like hamburgers, croquettes and frikadels - you can get some drinks and fries from the counter). > > If you’re ever in the Netherlands, these shops are easy to find. Many train stations have them, and the above mentioned [FEBO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEBO) shops are fairly common in the larger cities. You’re right. That’s an automat. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/38 "2010-12-20T17:57:32Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > One word: McDonald’s. Fast food restaurants took their place for a quick, cheap meal. > > In addition, they ran into trouble when the had to raise prices. Vending machines didn’t accept dollar bills back in the 70s. You could get change for a dollar, but the readers only used to make change. I would expect they were too expensive to put on every slot in the automat. So you’d have to either have a pocketful of change, or run your dollar bills through the changer and then carry the coins to the slot. Too much hassle when you could go to Burger King and have it your way. The last time I went they still had a lady in a booth taking dollars and handing out change for the machines - no bill changers yet. And I always had macaroni and cheese there. Some of the best I’ve ever had, but I think that is from the thrill of doing it myself more than actual food quality. ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/39 "2010-12-20T19:28:37Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > I also recall going to one once in NYC…not exactly sure where it was, but think it was on the same street as Carnegie Hall? Few blocks east? > Had seen them so often in films I just sort of wandered in and tried something - I don’t even think I was particularly hungry, but just wanted to see how it worked. > I was unimpressed - reminded me of a somewhat better than average high school cafeteria as far as food selection. > And yeah, the people hanging out there that day looked like they were from a local retirement home, and it was not exactly a cheery atmosphere. There was one in the East Village not too long ago. It closed last year. Corn dogs, burgers, fries. Nothing exciting. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555/40 "2010-12-26T21:41:53Z")
Just saw a segment on _Modern Marvels_ that mentioned [BAMN!](http://www.bamnfood.com/index.html), an automat in NYC. Looks like they’ve been around a couple of years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-automats-did-you-ever-eat-at-one/564555.md?page=3)