What Happened to the Automat? | The Coin-Operated Restaurants That Once Fed America

Millions of Americans ate lunch from a wall of little glass doors before fast food chains and drive-through windows entered the picture. These restaurants were called automats. You dropped a nickel into a slot, turned a chrome knob, and a hot meal appeared behind a glass window. You didn't order from a waiter, and you didn't sit at a counter. There were only rows of coin-operated compartments filled with baked beans, sandwiches, pie, and some of the most famous coffee in America. Automats were a normal part of everyday life in cities like New York and Philadelphia for many years. Their peak was in the 1950s, and during this time, the Horn & Hardart automats were serving nearly 800,000 people a day. In this video, we look at how the automat worked, why it became so popular in mid-century American cities, and the economic and cultural changes that caused the "modern" restaurants to collapse. If you remember eating at an automat, share your memories in the comments. As a Rakuten Partner for Little Tikes, if you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support the channel. Thank you for your support. https://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/...