automat

1 a vending machine from which you can get food

2 a cafeteria where food is served from machines

see Automat

English

Noun

1. A vending machine for food.
2. A cafeteria consisting of vending machines.

Albanian

Noun

1. automaton (machine, robot, or formal system)

Croatian

Noun

hr-noun m

1. automaton

Czech

Noun

1. automaton

Derived terms

• konečný automat

Related terms

• automatický

Romanian

Etymology

automate

Adjective

1. automatic, self-acting, inertial

Declension

Noun

1. automaton
2. vending machine
3. golem
4. clockwork

Declension

Swedish

Noun

automat

1. automaton

An Automat is a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drink are served by coin-operated and bill-operated vending machines. Originally, the machines took only nickels but modern automat vending machines accept bills. In the original format, a cashier would sit in a change booth in the center of the restaurant, behind a wide marble counter with five to eight rounded depressions in it. She would serve many customers at once, taking their money from the depressions and dropping nickels in its place. The diner would insert the required number of coins and then slide open a window to remove the meal, which was generally wrapped in waxed paper. The machines were filled from the kitchen behind. They are still very common in The Netherlands, but outside of there, few exist. The last one closed in the United States in 1991. However in 2006, an automat, BAMN, opened in New York City's East Village.

Unlike modern vending machines, food was served on real dishes with metal utensils, and drinks in glasses.

Inspired by the Quisiana Automat in Berlin, the first automat in the U.S. was opened June 12, 1902 at 818 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia by Horn & Hardart. The automat was brought to New York City in 1912 and gradually became part of popular culture in northern industrial cities. Horn & Hardart was the most prominent automat chain.

The format was threatened by the growth of suburbs and the rise of fast food restaurants catering to cars (with their drive-thru windows) in the 1950s; by the 1970s their remaining appeal was strictly nostalgic. Another contributing factor to their demise was undoubtedly the inflation of the 1960s and 70s, making the food too expensive to be bought conveniently with coins, in a time before bill acceptors commonly appeared on vending equipment.

Another form of the Automat was used on some passenger trains, the last United States example being an Automat car on Amtrak's short-lived service to Janesville, Wisconsin in 2001. These were limited by mechanical problems, since the machines weren't necessarily intended for the bumpy ride on the rails, and state laws that prohibited alcoholic beverages from being sold by a machine.

The automat food format is still popular in some other countries. For example, FEBO stores in The Netherlands, where the automat is called Automatiek, provide a variety of burgers, sandwiches, and krokets in vending machines that are back-loaded from a kitchen.

References

beanery, bistro, buffet, buvette, cafe, cafeteria, canteen, cantina, chophouse, chuck wagon, coffee shop, coffeehouse, coffeeroom, coin machine, coin-operated machine, cookhouse, cookshack, cookshop, diner, dining hall, dining room, dog wagon, drive-in, drive-in restaurant, eatery, eating house, fast-food chain, grill, grillroom, hamburger stand, hash house, hashery, hot-dog stand, kitchen, lunch counter, lunch wagon, luncheonette, lunchroom, mess hall, pizzeria, quick-lunch counter, restaurant, slot machine, smorgasbord, snack bar, tavern, tearoom, trattoria, vending machine, vendor