(WRITER)
Introduction
The early 1900s were a period of significant change – aircraft, cars, transatlantic ocean liners – all these were coming into mainstream use, and owe their emergence to this period of technical advancement. Another lesser-remembered innovation of the time that captured the imagination of the people was the automat. The first example of automated fast food at a low price, the system consisted of a number of windows in which food was displayed. You put in a coin (initially a nickel or 5 cents later revised to a dime or 10 cents) and the window could be opened and the food taken. There were no waiters and therefore no tipping required. The windows were refilled from the back, and people continuously had access to fresh food, which was sourced from a central location. The concept initially started in 1902 in Philadelphia, when Horn & Hardart Bakery first imported the machines from Germany, where automats had started in the 1890s. In fact, Europe popularized the automat across the major cities like Paris and Berlin. Angelika Eppel (2009) outlines the journey of the Automat from the beginnings of its journey from the slot vending machines dispensing candy, then beverages and finally foods in her studies on the history of automated food1.
First Mention of the Automat in Historical Documents
The New York Times depicts a photo series on the Automat of Times Square from as far back as 19122. This is the first printed description of the Automat and its operation. The article describes the working of the Automat in detail, and defines it as one of the landmarks of the city. The automat has been described by many historians as one of the historic features of New York City. The first automat started in New York’s Times Square in 1912, and was an instant hit. A second one followed a few months later on Broadway, near Union Station, and by 1933, 43 of these restaurants dotted New York City.
The Automat in Times Square (Image Courtesy Langmuir, 2012)
An article in the New York Times archives talks of the popularity of the Automat with the lunch time workers. The place was very democratic, with no fixed seating, no waiters or specialized service. White and blue collar workers mingled freely to eat good, affordable food that was available instantly. In many ways, the automat was the harbinger of the fast food revolution. In 2012, the New York Public Library did a recreation of the automat as one of the city’s memorable landmarks. It is estimated that the chain of Automats set up by Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart was feeding as many as 750,000 people a day at its peak3 (Roberts, 2012).
The Automat in Action (Images Courtesy Roberts, 2012)
Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart first start a small kitchenette and bakery cafeteria in Philadelphia in the 1890s. A salesman told them about automats and they visited Berlin in 1900 to see one in action. Impressed by the speed and efficiency with which it could serve thousands of customers without having waiting staff, the two placed orders for the first of the machines which was delivered in 1902. That year, the Horn & Hardart Automat Restaurant opened in Philadelphia for the first time. People initially had a tough time figuring out how to get the food out of the display cases. The automat was essentially a large vending machine, where food was kept on display in glass cases. Putting in the required coins and turning a knob opened the case and the food could be taken out. The cases were refilled from the back by a rotating server operated by a select number of operators. The food was cooked centrally from fresh ingredients each day and brought to the automat, where it was prepared and put into the display cases. People were assured of fresh food, and coffee at the automat was considered some of the best available. Prices were very reasonable for the time, and people could come in, choose what they wanted, pay for it and take it away to eat that the table immediately. There was no fixed seating, and the system proved to be popular with the lunch time crowd of office goers and workers who wanted to hurry through their lunch break. It was also popular with students and evening visitors because of the coffee and sandwiches which were guaranteed fresh. Even the orange juice was freshly squeezed and changed every two hours if it remained unsold.
Customers found many advantages to this kind of dining. While the slots ensured that only they knew how much they spent on each meal, they got a great amount of variety for the money spent, and the polished chrome and glass finish gave them an assurance of cleanliness and hygiene. Since there were no waiters, there was no waiting time and no tipping, a big advantage during the recessionary times of the 1920s and 30s. The Automats also had a very strict food policy. All food left over at the end of the day was trucked to thrift shops in the poorer neighborhoods which sold the “day-old” stuff at a discount. Their coffee was famous, and made with a fresh-dip technique the founders had learnt from the French. From 1912 until 1950, the coffee remained priced at a nickel, and was tested each day to make sure it was fresh and came out in precise quantities at the required temperature6 (Crowley, 2001). At their peak, Horn & Hardart’s Automats sold over 90 million cups of coffee every year.
Rising costs forced the Automats to raise their prices. Coffee went from a nickel to two nickels, resulting in volumes dropping to 45 million cups a year. Meanwhile, other faster and cost-effective means of fast food began to emerge, like the McDonalds, Whitecastle and the varieties of pizza chains. At the same time, fewer people gravitated to the city, with suburbs spreading further away. People began to gravitate away from café style food, and this further increased the cost of maintaining the fleet of trucks that serviced the chain, as volumes dropped. To keep up, the restaurant started using pre-cooked and frozen, semi-prepared food for its dishes. This further affected quality and led to the ultimate demise of the Automats. The last Automat in Philadelphia closed in 1990, and the last one in New York, the Times Square outlet closed in 1991. In the 70s, the automats were replaced by Burger King franchises, and the Philadelphia kitchenette closed in 2005.
David Freeland (2009) in his book Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville: Excavating Manhattan's Lost Places of Leisure, talks about the prevalence of Horn & Hardart’s Automat in Times Square8. Other authors such as Deihl and Hardart (2002) have published a 100 year history of the automat, and outlined the milestones in the journey of what was America’s first fast food chain9. The Smithsonian and the New York Public Library have exhibitions dedicated to turn of the century New York in which the Automat features prominently as a sign of the times. People often compare the machine-prepared coffee of today to the kind of quality coffee that was served at Automats.
The Automat Revived
In 2006, Robert Kwak and his two co-founders tried to revive the automat, setting up their Bamn! Automat in the East village in New York7 (NBC News, 2006). The modern automat served contemporary food such as New York style sandwiches, chicken fritters and other smaller portion servings such as mozzarella sticks. However, their success was short-lived. Automats remain popular in the Netherlands today, but have more or less disappeared from everywhere else. Automats remain a forgotten piece of New York history today, with only the Smithsonian having a section of the Philadelphia automat on display. Other restaurants at various times have tried the revival of the Automat concept, but it has not been able to stand up to the challenge of the fast food chains of today. The Bamn Automat was reviewed in 2009 among the restaurants of New York City by the New York Times, but was found to have quality below average. The restaurant subsequently closed down in 2009. A few restaurants in places such as London have worked on rebuilding the concept, but do not seem to have understood its full significance, or have represented it erroneously.
Conclusion
The automat as a concept came to the US from Europe, mainly Germany, but became more popular and well-known here. In spite of world-changing events, the chain lasted over half a decade, finally giving way to the fast food restaurant chains of today. In its time, the automat represented a significant image of development and automation, creating success for the Horn & Hardart founders who believed in wholesome fresh food available at reasonable prices to people. It served everyone from the homeless to the rich with equal dedication and was one of the most democratic institutions of its day, with no class barriers. It represents one facet of the industrial revolution and the advancement of human civilization, and is the precursor to modern fast food restaurants everywhere. But it remains a part of history, a forgotten piece from at time gone by.
Endnotes
- Eppel A (2009) The "Automat': A History of Technological Transfer and the Process of Global Standardization in Modem Fast Food around 1900, Food & history, Vol. 7, No. 2, Brepols Publishers , Turnhout, Belgium.
- Langmuir, M (20 December 2012) 15 Hottest Food Trends Of 1912, Buzzfeed, retrieved from http://www.buzzfeed.com/mollykayt/15-hottest-food-trends-of-1912
- Roberts, S (17 June 2012) Revisiting the Era of Automatic Dining, NY Times, retrieved from http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/revisiting-the-era-of-automatic-dining/?_r=0
- Alfred, R (9 June 2010) June 9, 1902: Put a Nickel In, Take Your Food Out, Wired, retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2010/06/0609first-automat-opens-philadelphia/
- NYPL (2012) Lunch Hour NYC, New York Public Library, retrieved from http://exhibitions.nypl.org/lunchhour/exhibits/show/lunchhour/automat/coffee
- Crowley, CH (August 2001) Meet Me at the Automat, The Smithsonian Magazine, retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/meet-me-at-the-automat-47804151/?no-ist=&page=2
- NBC News (2006) Revival of Automat Features New Twists, NBC, retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14553052/ns/business-small_business/t/revival-automat-features-modern-twists/#.VGcZ4DSUdQE
- Freeland, D (2009) Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville: Excavating Manhattan's Lost Places of Leisure, New York University Press, New York.
- Hardart, M and Diehl, L (2002) The Automat: The History, Recipes, and Allure of Horn & Hardart's Masterpiece, Clarkson Potter, New York.
References
Alfred, R (9 June 2010) June 9, 1902: Put a Nickel In, Take Your Food Out, Wired. http://www.wired.com/2010/06/0609first-automat-opens-philadelphia/
Crowley, CH (August 2001) Meet Me at the Automat, The Smithsonian Magazine. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/meet-me-at-the-automat-47804151/?no-ist=&page=2
Eppel A (2009) The "Automat': A History of Technological Transfer and the Process of Global Standardization in Modem Fast Food around 1900, Food & History, Vol. 7, No. 2, Brepols Publishers , Turnhout, Belgium.
Freeland, D (2009) Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville: Excavating Manhattan's Lost Places of Leisure, New York University Press, New York.
Hardart, M and Diehl, L (2002) The Automat: The History, Recipes, and Allure of Horn & Hardart's Masterpiece, Clarkson Potter, New York.
Langmuir, M (20 December 2012) 15 Hottest Food Trends Of 1912, Buzzfeed. http://www.buzzfeed.com/mollykayt/15-hottest-food-trends-of-1912
NBC News (2006) Revival of Automat Features New Twists, NBC, http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14553052/ns/business-small_business/t/revival-automat-features-modern-twists/#.VGcZ4DSUdQE
NYPL (2012) Lunch Hour NYC, New York Public Library. http://exhibitions.nypl.org/lunchhour/exhibits/show/lunchhour/automat/coffee
Roberts, S (17 June 2012) Revisiting the Era of Automatic Dining, NY Times. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/revisiting-the-era-of-automatic-dining/?_r=0
