Imagine a coin-operated vending machine the size of a 7-11 serving all the snack foods and drinks you would typically find there but on real dishes with metal utensils, and drinks in glasses. Automats were the first fast food restaurants where simple foods were served by coin-operated machines and soon after, bill-operated machines. The first automat opened its doors in the U.S on June 12, 1902 in Philadelphia by Horn & Hardart, a German-born, New Orleans-raised entrepreneurial duo
that revolutionized the way Americans ate. The Automat business flourished until 1950's with the growth of Suburbs and fast food restaurants with drive-thru windows.
By the 1970's the Automat era was over.
Horn & Hardart finally closed the doors of their last establishment in 1991. But in 2001 BAMN attempted to revive the Automat in New York City's East Village, only to close down in March of 2009.
Isn't it interesting how things change over time
but in a way stay quintessentially the same.
You have to ask yourself "What's next ?"
Everyday the lines of extinction are becoming more apparent.
When was the last time you saw a Pay phone on a street corner ?
Soon it will be the Mail pan or the Mailman,
"whatever happened to the milkman.. the paperboy.. evening tv
you miss your old familiar friends waiting just around the bend."
No comments:
Post a Comment