The other day, in a different venue – someone mentioned the Automat. I think the context was we were discussing the possible effects of a $15 an hour minimum wage that Democrats are pushing hard.
You have to be pretty old to remember the Automat, or adept at using Google or Wikipedia to pretend you remember.
Back in the 1960s, my mother dragged our family to visit in Philadelphia. She seemed very familiar with the concept, which was a little surprising since we have none in western Pennsylvania.
The Automat was essentially a cross between a cafeteria and a modern vending machine – before that technology existed.
You walked through the serving area, and you would look in the sliding windows at the various foods that were available. Each item had a price, and you inserted the appropriate coins so you were able to open the door. There was a cashier, but her purpose was mostly to make change if you didn’t have the correct coins.
The reality was – while it might have been less resource intensive than a real cafeteria, it was nonetheless resource intensive. Behind those magic windows, there was a human who was restocking items as they were sold. I discovered that when she turned the device to restock it after I put in the coins but hadn’t yet opened the door.
The purpose was more to deal with a large lunch time crush of people quickly, not to save labor costs. Unlike a cafeteria, the Automat was random access, not sequential. A secondary purpose could have been so that white customers didn’t have to have social interaction with the black women in the kitchen. We’re talking about the city of Frank Rizzo, after all (and New York).
The first US Automat opened in 1902 and they started to vanish in the 1970s – when McDonald’s, the death of downtown shopping and inflation did them in. The three generation rule may also have been a factor.
I enjoyed reading your insights and think you are right. I have never been to an automat, but remember the Horn & Hardart commercials on WABC in heavy rotation back when it was a music station.
I think another reason is the loss of manufacturing jobs. When people worked in factories half a century ago, the assembly line stopped and everyone took a break at the same time – the opposite of the people cycling through breaks in retail jobs.
I have observed more and more vending machines that take debit and credit cards, and those machines vend virtually all the items from the old automats – sandwiches, soups, salads, slices of cake an pie… and some things that the old automats did not sell – burritos 🙂
I did a google and found on youtube a commercial for an active automat store on Long Island – but it is not what I expected – they do automobile interior detailing. 🙂
I did learn that the automats started in Europe and there is at least on in Amsterdam (rather than New Amsterdam)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wuHHPo0iro
McDonald’s doing test trials on ordering/payment iPhone App in Columbus Georgia
http://www.businessinsider.com/exclusive-mcdonalds-is-secretly-testing-its-own-order-ahead-and-payments-app-2014-6#ixzz35ZQl7iK2
I’m so ready for this… No cash, no physical credit card, eliminating mistakes in what I ordered, no waiting in line to order
A fundamental problem with the drive thru fast food model is it is single threaded – you can somewhat improve that by having two windows or two lanes, but that’s about the limit.
This new app is going to rework that whole idea – you pull into a parking space, place your order, and when the food is ready, they deliver it out to your car. Welcome the return of the drivein restaurant! (except no tipping the carhop)
Welcome Sonic… many locations in the Charlotte area
http://www.sonicdrivein.com/Home/Locator