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Watched a cool documentary on HBO Max. Mel Brooks said he once paid $35 for a cup of coffee and it wasn't
as good as the 5 cent Horn and Hardart coffee he used to get at the Automat.
They looked pretty cool and had nice decor with marble floors. Of course you'd most likely have to use a credit
card today to swipe (no coins) but turning a brass knob and getting a great sandwich or piece of pie sounds
like a win to me.
They were before my time but they looked pretty nifty. Everything was a nickel, right? Did they serve on real dishes with silverware etc.? Who cleaned up the tables etc.?
Some were still around even 30 years ago but I've never been to one, myself. If there was one open now and located close to me, I would try it. They look kind of fun.
They were before my time but they looked pretty nifty. Everything was a nickel, right? Did they serve on real dishes with silverware etc.? Who cleaned up the tables etc.?
Everything started out as a nickel. They eventually increased the price to 10 cents (2 nickels) and people got annoyed! They did use real dishes; I think they had busboys or some workers who cleaned up.
Some were still around even 30 years ago but I've never been to one, myself. If there was one open now and located close to me, I would try it. They look kind of fun.
I agree! I think it would be a cool place to have lunch if you had a "Back to the Future" kind of experience.
Or if they brought them back today.
Everything started out as a nickel. They eventually increased the price to 10 cents (2 nickels) and people got annoyed! They did use real dishes; I think they had busboys or some workers who cleaned up.
I can see the allure. Take some nickels and you're good to go.
Mrs. didn't like the 99 cent stores because they started charging $1.99 etc. Then her beloved $1 tree changed to the $1.25 tree and well...?
Since Nixon changed the world maybe a fixed price isn't available any more. OK use a credit card? I'm not sure that fixes the problem.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I'm 70 and have never seen one, they must have been before my time or perhaps only in big cities. Here at my office they have a somewhat similar idea, cold or frozen foods that you buy with a kiosk to pay, then you have to microwave the foods that get served hot. The café here got shut down due to Covid and still only about 1/10 of the people working in the office on any given day. Still not even enough to support an automat.
I remember going to them a few times as a child, although my memories in general are as faded as old newspaper photos at this point. This would probably be late '50s and perhaps a year or so beyond, being brought there by my folks, I vaguely remember being with my grandmother too. This would be on occasions that we would take the subway to Manhattan in our "good clothes" for some reason: the Tree at Rockefeller Center, Mass at St Pat's Cathedral... something cheap or free.
They were busy and noisy, I recall. I was fascinated walking around, looking at all the little windows with a plate of food locked behind it: soup, sandwiches, desserts and I could choose and pay myself. The only dish I have a clear memory of is getting a small bowl of baked beans that was in a small but heavy commercial-style bowl (to prevent chipping & breakage) and was steaming hot. Putting a coin in the slot myself and grabbing it from the window was exciting to a 6-7-8(?) yo and carrying the tray to our table.
If I watched the little windows after people took their tuna sandwich or whatever, I would catch a glimpse of someone's face behind the window quickly shoving in another sandwich and disappearing. For a kid it was a fascinating place to eat compared to all those boring restaurants where i had to sit still and be quiet forever it seemed.
I guess a few were still around when I was a teen but they were almost invisible in the age of fast-food burgers. They disappeared quietly, like the lightning bugs we used see back then too but no more.
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