Ha, my MIL used to say,”you just THINK it’s new.”

I remember the automat, but just barely. It was cafeteria style, as I recall. Slide your tray along until you saw what you wanted inside the little window, insert your coin and lift the plate out. It would be fun to do it again.

I have always wanted to eat in one. Saw it in an old movie as a child, and I thought it was so neat!

Our university class went to New York in 1964 or 5 and one of the highlights was a trip to the Automat. We were so delighted to move our trays along and choose a sandwich or a piece of pie in a WINDOW. I don't remember how we paid -- at the end i suppose.

US restaurants should consider developing the conveyor belt systems that some Japanese restaurants have.

And many people also think that having groceries delivered is new.

'Everything old is new again' is the phrase that's been echoing in my brain lately. Like having store employees pick your groceries and deliver them - that's the way it used to be before self service supermarkets came along.

I remember the Horn & Hardarts in NYC. We went to one when I was little - it was fun ☺️

And I recall listening to a very interesting podcast about the history of Horn & Hardart, unfortunately I can't recall which podcast.

And an automat is featured in the movie 'That Touch of Mink' with Doris Day and Cary Grant.

"And many people also think that having groceries delivered is new."

Really? That hasn't been my experience over the last year. It's a simply a type of retail service that fell out of favor and was discontinued. And started up again when the demand for same reappeared.

Growing up in an urban area, this social security recipient never saw or knew of anyone who had grocery deliveries so the practice must have been from long ago or in smaller towns.

I like the idea, and I watched the video. I could not believe that the woman at the end of the video said that it was sexy - it is just the opposite of that IMO - unless you find operating a machine with your phone sexy. I was not surprised that the price of food is what caused the death of the old automats, since by the 1970s too many coins would be needed to buy anything.

There is a craft beer pizza restaurant in Culver City that requires you to serve yourself a variety of different beers from a row of spigots, but you still have to pay someone for the spigots to be activated. Once you pay a certain amount, the dispenser knows how much beer to come out, but I had trouble working it, and someone had to come out to get the beer for me.

I don't consider dumpling to be an entire meal, as a rule, but I did go to a dim sum restaurant in Monterrey Park where there is no menu, and you just make selections from a roving cart that passes from table to table. I don't remember how the bill was calculated, but I do remember that the bill was completely in Chinese when we got it, and a friend had to translate it for us.

I used to go to cafeterias frequently when I lived in or visited Texas. I liked them because they always had fried okra, but I also tended to get a bit too much food.

There was a restaurant in Houston called Hamburgers by Gourmet, and it was decorated in early 20th Century decor with antique phones at each table. To order, you would pick up a phone and "call" in the order to the kitchen. When the order was ready, the phone would ring, and you would go pick it up. I liked this very much and thought it was pretty efficient.

As stated in the video, automation will be eliminating jobs. It will be interesting to see how much this idea catches on. As I said, it is not sexy or glamorous - quite the opposite, but it might have appeal nevertheless.

Elmer, I knew people on Nob Hill in San Francisco who always had their groceries delivered, even in the 1980s.

There are Japanese restaurants on the West Coast, from L.A. to Vancouver, that use the conveyor belt system.

IIRC, you paid for each item as you bought it with coinage in the slots. The automats came about as a result of the depression where restaurants were getting stuck with unpaid checks. This way, the customer only got the food as they paid for it.

There are a couple of sushi places in Houston that have conveyor belts. I haven't been to them. I'm not sure I would like it. A piece of pie can sit around all day, but other foods have a shorter time limit. Someone in the kitchen has to handle the food anyway. I guess I'd prefer they do it like Chickfilet where the order comes out on a tray at the drive through when it is done. You just grab your sack.

I'm seeing more places pop up where you order and pay for your food up front and then take a seat. The tip goes on the bill at that time. The food gets brought out and waiter may or may not check on you throughout the dining process.

I watch Mikey Chen on YouTube because he travels to eat. Japan has had food vending machines for a long time. There are various types. He posted one picture of one at a road intersection with nothing surrounding it. Some heat the food when selected others provide a microwave to heat it.

I found out by watching him that the 7-eleven's in Asia have a wonderful selection of food stuff including in some places made to order items.

I have fond memories of the automat in NYC. Apple pie in particular.

I remember when the groceries were delivered at my great aunt’s house. Not only did the delivery boy bring in the order, he also put it in the cupboards. Small town in rural PA.

As seen during normal times, not unlike Dim Sum with roving carts you pick your food from, moving sushi displays, whether by conveyor or, as in a few places I've been too, simulated "boats" on conveyors, are often seen.

I remember they had yummy macaroni & cheese.

And I found the podcast - it was on 99% Invisible:

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-automat/

And the first self service grocery store was in 1916, and they became more widely known by the 40s. I'm not sure anybody on this board was buying groceries before then.

"And an automat is featured in the movie 'That Touch of Mink' with Doris Day and Cary Grant."

Carol, that was the first thing I thought of when I saw this topic.

It will be interesting to see if the self service groceries survive. I will probably be dead by then but it could happen. I have been wondering this for several years with the return of routine delivery service. There will always be some people that want to select their own but delivery only would reduce some of the shoplifting although there will always be someone taking things. Even in the pre self service era there were shops that sold groceries and other things such as produce and meats so people could select their own.

Growing up in an urban area, this social security recipient never saw or knew of anyone who had grocery deliveries so the practice must have been from long ago or in smaller towns.

In NYC it was a common practice in the 1960s (when I was a child) and through at least the mid-70s when I went off to college. People almost always had larger grocery orders delivered, since there were only so many bags you could schlep home.

Bookwoman

Common practice in the 50s/60s in San Francisco also. Some people have led sheltered lives I guess.

My "urban" area was a residential neighborhood of single family homes in Los Angeles. It was centrally located and as urban (and not suburban) as any part of LA was. Cool, upmarket residential opportunities in and near downtown didn't start to appear until urban renewal of that kind began about 30 years ago. No part of LA was like any setting in NYC or other East Coast cities.

The somewhat unique SoCal car culture began in the 1950s. Every traditional family had two cars and shopping and everything else typically involved a drive, even with walkable distances. Public transportation was limited and not much used. Grocery deliveries were not known.

LOL, Annie, I was going to post that video. I well remember that movie.

Such a sad and sorry attitude to continue to make such ridiculous comments. Jealousy and envy must be the cause.

Thanks for posting those scenes. I always loved that movie.

Fun to see Audrey Meadows, too or should I say Alice Kramden.

Ate at a conveyor belt sushi place with my uncles in Japan. Fun, would have been better if we all could have sat together but the tables only held 4 each and there were 8 of us.

When I used to go to Oregon for plants there was a conveyor belt sushi place in Wilsonville just off the freeway. It was the first place I had sushi. Like many food places sometimes it was excellent other times not so much.

So my browser noticed I was looking up automats and provided this article in my newsfeed. Little known history of a theme park outside NYC...

https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2020/11/01/the-automat-goes-country/

I have just the place to 'reinvent' automats! The US Post Offices! They have walls of beautiful brass boxes and huge lobbies that could be furnished with tables and chairs. Plenty of space in the back for kitchens.

Now, what could be sold from the smaller boxes? Cocktails? (Weed?)

This social security recipient never knew of groceries being delivered, either. We lived in the country, but I knew people that lived in town and there was no delivery there either. People in town shopped at their neighborhood store, or drove to a larger store for groceries.

We all need to remember that this is a large, diverse country and our life experiences are not all the same. There is no need to ridicule someone else's experiences, or the way they lived.

I am definitely not from the pre-supermarket era, but I've watched plenty of old movies and TV shows where groceries were delivered.

Elmer J Fudd

"And many people also think that having groceries delivered is new."

...< .>.

Growing up in an urban area, this social security recipient never saw or knew of anyone who had grocery deliveries so the practice must have been from long ago or in smaller towns.

~~~~

There are exceptions even in urban areas. Downtown Toronto, 1970s-80s. The thriving Italian grocery in my neighbourhood delivered (a 100? I'll have to check with them) complete orders on the weekend. This was produce, canned goods, laundry items, cold cuts and cheeses and dairy -- family's ordered a week's worth of groceries. Since I lived across the street, of course I just shopped daily.

Sure, there are exceptions to everything.

I'm confused - this is what was posted as a reply:

""And many people also think that having groceries delivered is new."

Really? That hasn't been my experience over the last year."

In response to someone saying it seemed to her many thought grocery delivery was new, I said that that hadn't been my experience, not what I've heard people say over the past year. Is this something people think is new? No, not in my experience. I think the words are very clear.

I also said pretty clearly that while I "never saw or knew of anyone who had grocery deliveries" when I was growing up over half a century ago, it wasn't an unknown concept. Just not commonly done where I was. Others like me (friends and others, many of whom grew up in similar areas and in similar circumstances) were of the same view. We've heard of it, it's not new, not something any of us had seen or that our families had used.

If something I say seems to have been understood by others but not by you, and you have a sincere misunderstanding I might be able to help with, feel free to message me. I don't think that's what this comment is about.