It is a vending machine

Just like the original Automat, on which it is based. The founders, Mr. Horn and Mr. Hardart, would select random dishes from their 40 restaurants daily, and taste them to make certain that they met their high standards. They called this the Sample Table. Here, the customer choses a dish from the computer screen, by pushing a few buttons, and pays for it using a credit or debit card, and the window opens automatically so they can take their delicious treat. 

It is a pre-order device

You can use your phone or computer to order one or more dishes from your home, office, school etc., and pay for them, and you are given a code. When you arrive, you enter this code using your phone or by entering it on the computer screen, and the windows holding your heated or refrigerated dishes open automatically, so you can gather your order. 

Or you can have your food delivered

Instead of picking up your order, you can pay for it in advance, and it can be brought to you by a delivery person, who is given a code by phone. They are able to pick it up from the restaurant (or ghost kitchen) by presenting this code using their phone, which opens the compartment holding your various dishes, while also providing your address to the deliverer. 

The original Horn and Hardart Automats introduced the concept of technology into the food business. They did this while also featuring lavish theatrical settings and unbelievably high-quality and delicious food, at amazingly low prices, due to their ability to use “economies of scale” to revolutionize this industry. A few coins and the turn of a knob triggered an explosion of sensations and actions. Meanwhile, the cup of coffee (the best you could find) that they sold in 1902 for 5 cents was still available in 1950, for the same nickel.

In honor of that tradition, and to bring the latest in food delivery technology to the public, we will soon be providing these updated Automats to the industry. Like the original, it is a vending machine, which offers instant gratification that will, in most cases, be refreshed constantly by the food preparers behind it. Critically, it may also serve, in many cases, to enable the public to easily sample the fare of an establishment through specially prepared small dishes, as a way to generate many new customers and a much wider appreciation of its offerings.

Available soon.

What should an Automat be?

Instant gratification, full respect for your time

Up-to-date, even futuristic, ways of engaging

Freshly prepared, healthy, and delicious food

A welcoming environment that is also beautiful

Reasonable costs for the best quality ingredients

A refuge for a full range of different personalities

A demonstration that there is enough of everything

Proof that public and private interests can merge

Somebody’s hand-made and beloved enterprise

A place made memorable by its very existence

The best cup of coffee, for 5 cents, for 50 years

And the tranquility that accompanies this stability

Well, that last one may be tough, so just forget it