To anyone my age, Horn and Hardart’s line of Automats /was/ New York City. Part of what did them in was the rise in prices; it’s not so convenient to buy a sandwich with fifty dimes. So there’s really no point to bring it up to date. The Automats are gone, like dramatic and comedy radio, typewriters, rumble seats, world’s fairs, liveried elevator operators, and double features.
It wasn’t all machinery. The back opened up directly to a real, live kitchen, and the food was kept fresh—New York is kinda particular about its restaurants, especially the ones that are popular with tourists, reporters, and businessmen.
To anyone my age, Horn and Hardart’s line of Automats /was/ New York City. Part of what did them in was the rise in prices; it’s not so convenient to buy a sandwich with fifty dimes. So there’s really no point to bring it up to date. The Automats are gone, like dramatic and comedy radio, typewriters, rumble seats, world’s fairs, liveried elevator operators, and double features.
It wasn’t all machinery. The back opened up directly to a real, live kitchen, and the food was kept fresh—New York is kinda particular about its restaurants, especially the ones that are popular with tourists, reporters, and businessmen.