The Automats were here back in 1912:

automat, n. | Gr. automatos, self-acting |
1. an apparatus for serving foods mechanically when a coin is dropped in a slot. 2. a restaurant having such apparatus in place

The pictures (above) is showing the original Horn & Hardart Automat in NYC.

A limited number of genuine Automat machines are salvaged and available for sale from the Automat Collection of Steve Stollman.

Please join Steve Stollman at Meet Me at the Automat event

Monday 07/02/2012, 1 P.M., 1557 Broadway in Times Square

Decorate your new Automat restaurant with unique and genuine Automat items. We have many original Automat units from Horn and Hardart Automat, some chairs, glasses, plates…etc. For more antiques please visit abeautifulbar.com

Press Release:
Who: Steve Stollman MeetMe@TheAutomat.com 212 431 0600
What: Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the opening of the first Horn and Hardart Automat in New York City
Where: In front of 1557 Broadway, the site of the first Automat
When: From 1 PM to 3 PM, Monday, July 2, 2012

On July 2nd, 1912, at 1557 Broadway in Times Square, the first of New York City’s remarkable chain of low-priced but high-quality restaurants opened. For nearly a century the 40 Horn and Hardart Automats scattered around NYC became some of the most well-known and well-loved elements of this place, extremely popular among tourists and residents alike. It is worth reflecting on its unique character and its influence on many aspects of our lives.

Steve Stollman, who for twenty years has been the only source and conservator of the last of these handsome and unique vending machines, that once were the primary symbol of this phenomenon, will provide information to those members of the press interested in giving the public a better picture of this New York City icon. He will provide copies of the book “The Automat” by Lorraine Diehl and Marianne Hardart, the best book available on this subject, to help them understand this issue better.

Some may wish to visit the recently-opened show at the New York Public Library on the history of lunch in NYC a few blocks away on 42nd Street and 5th Avenue. The restored Automat fixtures on display there is strong evidence of the beauty and charm of these restaurants as well as the ability of some businesses and institutions to serve the real needs of the entire population, regardless of social station, with class and distinction. The library itself, as well as the Automat, is an excellent example of the important benefits that accrue to a society when its gifts can be made available to all rather than just a few.

Said the Technocrat, to the Plutocrat To the Autocrat, and the Democrat — “Let’s all go eat at the Automat!”

Articles:

Lunch: An Urban Invention

Revisiting the Era of Automatic Dining cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/revisiting-the-era-of-automatic-dining

Fresh from the press cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/stories-from-the-automat-machines-in-a-harlem-basement

Read the full story at nytimes.com/nyregion/new-yorkers-co-in-little-boxes-the-automat-lives-on.html

Remember the Automat theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2012/06/remember-automat

Vanishing New York vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2008/04/steve-stollmans-place.html

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/06/dayintech_0609

Coin-Op Cuisine

https://www.eater.com/2015/9/16/9334659/automat-eatsa-history-future

Diner’s Journal