The Automat

The Automat is a fascinating slice of Americana. There is a great book on the subject. Buy it Read it.


An Automat was a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drink were served by coin-operated vending machines.The automat featured what appeared to be completely automated food service, like a giant walk-in vending machine. The reality is there were no space "Robits" making your food. People worked at the automats. People like you and me. A cashier (A woman of course, as this was considered women's work) would sit in a glass-enclosed change booth in the center of the restaurant. Usually the booth was lipped by 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. The "machines" were filled via the human staff from the kitchen behind. The machines had a locking device that would ensure the food was in place before the front panel could be opened.
Unlike modern vending machines, food was served on real crockery with metal utensils, and drinks were served in glasses made of real honest to goodness glass.
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. During 1940s and 1950s, there were over 50 Horn and Hardart’s restaurants in New York City, serving about 350,000 customers a day.

The format was threatened by the growth of suburbs and the rise of fast food restaurants catering to cars (with their drive-thru windows and car hop service) 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. This was way before the invention debit card swiper or bill acceptors that are commonplace on todays 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, but mainly because state laws that prohibited alcoholic beverages from being sold by a machine.
They are still very common in The Netherlands, but outside of there, few exist. The last real, non-Mobile Automat closed in the United States in 1991. However...

They Always Come Back:
in 2006, an automat opened in New York City's East Village with a very rocky start. Mired in bad blood, and legal problems stemming from a business partners actions, the American Automat struggled to stay alive. One of the partners, Robert Kwak, alleges in court papers that David Leong and "Nobu" Hai Nguyen blocked his access to the store's cell phone and e-mail accounts, tried to "terminate" him, and banned him from the premises. The other side says Robert tried to steal from him. They worked out their personal issues and the Automat survived.

The difference between automats of the past and this new incarnation is the dining space.

None.

Bamn! serves food to go.
Half a concept is not always better than no concept at all.

Visit Bamn!

If you would like your own automat machine contact these people.

If you have a hankerin' for some post depression era food and would like to make Horn & Hardart's Baked Macaroni and Cheese ... click here and go to "Recipies"

Orange Julius

The drink grew out of an orange juice stand opened in Los Angeles in 1926 by Julius Freed. Sales were initially modest, about $20 a day (over $200 adjusted for 2007 inflation). In 1929, Bill Hamlin, Freed's real estate broker, developed a mixture that made the acidic orange juice less bothersome to his stomach. Freed's stand began serving the drink, which had a frothier, creamier texture. The sales at the stand increased substantially after the introduction of the new drink, going up to $100 a day. People began lining up at the store and shouting, "Give me an Orange, Julius!" Eventually, the new drink would simply be called "the Orange Julius".
During the 1950s and 1960s, Orange Julius was sold at a variety of outlets, including state and county fairs and freestanding Orange Julius stands.This Orange Julius was a fruit smoothie, created by blending frozen orange juice, crushed ice, and a mixture of powdered sugar and dairy creamer.
An Orange Julius restaurant existed in London for a short while in the early 1970s. It was situated in the suburb of Golders Green, but despite its apparent popularity, Orange Julius did not really take off in the UK and the Golders Green branch was gone by about 1976.
Originally, and through the 1980's, a raw egg blended into the drink was offered as an option. This was seen as a good source of protein for body builders. However, the option was later dropped for food safety reasons, and bananas were offered as a substitute.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Orange Julius beverage stands used the image of a devil with a pitchfork, similar to that of the Arizona State University mascot, Sparky around an orange, with the slogan, "A Devilishly Good Drink". The company later dropped the logo and slogan after threats of a lawsuit from the ASU alumni association. The chain suffered after the loss of its slightly infringed mascot and sales began to drop off.

In 1987, the Orange Julius chain was bought by International Dairy Queen. IDQ, and by inclusion since 1999, Berkshire Hathaway, owns the rights to all Orange Julius stores, and have "expanded" the chain so its drinks are included in many of their Dairy Queen mall stores, called Treat Centers.

An odd bit of trivia:
Orange Julius' were also referred to as Orange Johnson's in the Southeast, specifically Tennessee.

They Always Come Back:
In 2004, Orange Julius launched a line of Premium Fruit Smoothies to compete with smoothie competitors such as Jamba Juice, Robecks, and Smoothie King.

While the name remains...sort of, little remains of the original drink made famous by that little red devilbaby. Try it for yourself and see.
Orange "Really went out of business when we were bought out by Dairy Queen " Julius

Chicken Delight

The company was started in Illinois in 1952 by American entrepreneur Al Tunick a pioneer in fast food franchising. Tunick purchased some deep fryers from a restaurant that was going out of business. He and some friends tried cooking different foods looking for a product other than french fries. At that time, chicken was pan-fried, steamed or oven-roasted. Due to the long cooking times, it was not a good fast-food item. Tunick coated some chicken in a spicy breading and lowered it into the hot oil. The chicken cooked much faster while the juices remained sealed inside. Thus, Chicken Delight was born.

He decided to market his method through small take-out and delivery locations. It was near the end of the Korean War when many women were working outside the home and had no time to cook. The slogan 'Don't Cook Tonight . . . Call Chicken Delight' became a household phrase throughout North America.

Chicken Delight quickly grew to more than 1,000 units throughout the United States and became the biggest fast-food company of its kind in North America. Chicken Delight is one of the oldest, if not the oldest chicken fast-food franchisor in the world. In 1958 a group of local businessmen in Winnipeg purchased the Chicken Delight trademarks and franchising rights for Canada and started the first store in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. In the same year another outlet opened its doors in St. Boniface, a location that is still in operation to this day.

By the mid 60's there were more than 50 units under Chicken Delight of Canada Ltd. About the same time, franchisees across the U.S. challenged the franchisor in court with the practice of requiring franchisees to buy their equipment and packaging from head office. Under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act stating the head office could not sell products above fair market value, the case was won by the franchisees. Consequently, the franchisor's main source of revenue dried up. The number of units declined significantly in the U.S. and the impact was felt in Canada as well.

Unaware of the possible consequences of the case, local entrepreneur Otto Koch purchased his first Chicken Delight franchise in 1969. Seeing the potential of the chain in Canada, Koch built and acquired additional franchise locations and in 1976 bought Chicken Delight of Canada Ltd. A big task lay ahead to rebuild an ailing franchise system. Koch concentrated on revitalizing the system in Canada by updating the stores and recreating the Chicken Delight name and brand image. By providing quality service and cleanliness, the Canadian operation once again began to prosper. This success led to Koch's acquisition of the U.S. and International arm - Chicken Delight International Inc. in 1979. For the first time the total Chicken Delight system was under one roof. Since then, Chicken Delight has continued to prosper under the guidance of past and current President and Owner Mr. Otto Koch. Meeting ever changing consumer demands with system improvements and the introduction of new menu items has led to the long lasting success of the company.
In Canada.
In the lowley United States Chicken Delight has faded from view thanks to chains like Popeyes, Churches, and the Vatican of fried chicken...
K.F.C.

They Always Come Back:
Chicken Delight franchises in the United States are few but they do exist.
If you are in New Jersey you can try your luck with these last known stateside locations:
Dumont
404 East Madison Ave.
201-385-2400

Hillsdale
100 Broadway
201-666-8828

Jersey City
731 Montgomery Street
201-433-3012

416 Central Avenue
201-659-4690

North Bergen
7718 Bergen Line Avenue
201-869-4900

Rahway
1685 Street George Avenue
201-388-3513

West Paterson
McBride Avenue & Rt. 46
201-256-8863

I'd call for you to see if they still exist but... clearly I'm lazy.

Naugles

Naugles was a fast-food Mexican restaurant chain that existed from 1970 to 1988. It was founded by former Del Taco employee Dick Naugle. The first Naugles restaurant was located in Riverside, California.
Harold Butler bought Naugles in 1971 when the chain consisted of three restaurants. He built it up to 225 restaurants by 1985, when he sold the chain to Collins Food International. Naugles merged with Del Taco in 1988.
However, this meant that Del Taco inherited the litigation that was being pursued against Naugles by former franchisee Vylene Enterprises Inc., run by Debra Vylene Green. The rapid expansion of Naugles had caused the franchise to make a mis-step. Vylene had been running a Naugles restaurant in Long Beach, California, when Naugles licensed a second restaurant to someone else, less than two miles away. A huge court battle was begun which lasted twelve years, until 1996, when a San Francisco federal court ruled that Naugles, now Del Taco, had breached its "covenant of good faith and fair dealing", awarding almost three million dollars to Vylene. This case was very closely watched by the entire fast food franchise industry, and the ruling sent all of the major franchises into deep contemplation of the terms "covenant of good faith and fair dealing." It is common now for franchises to conduct economic impact and viability studies anywhere that a new franchise is proposed.

Despite the legal issues, Del Taco has had no problem recruiting new franchisees. There are more than two hundred new franchises planned over the next two years. Taco Bell has saturated most markets, and Del Taco advertises better returns for franchise owners than Taco Bell restaurants, despite being the smaller of the two chains. Del Taco has most recently made its way into Texas, and continues east across the country at a phenomenal rate, giving closest competitors Taco Bell, McDonald's, and Rubio's a good run for their money.


In the Naugles TV commercials, the character of Señor Naugles was played by character actor Avery Schriber.

They Always Come back:
And then again... Sometimes they don't

Sambo's

ONCE UPON A TIME, not so very long ago, two enterprising gentlemen named Sam Battistone and F. Newell Bohnett decided to combine their talent and experience in order to develop a profitable restaurant business with unlimited potential.
The year was 1957 and the birthplace of the then sleeping tiger was picturesque Santa Barbara on the coast of Southern California.

Wondering about a suitable name for their restaurant, the two men finally came up with a fanciful derivation from their own names – Sam and Bohnett – and thus the future chain of Sambo’s Pancake Restaurants was born.
Shortly thereafter the partners revived the legend of the little boy and the tiger, who have been growing larger and larger dinning on pancakes floating in rare maple and boysenberry syrups, dripping with golden tiger butter. The company still uses the little boy, his parents Mumbo and Jumbo and the tiger for identification of menu items and promotional purposes.
Thus the awakened tiger and his new network of family restaurants grew faster than anyone had imagined possible. In fact, by 1969 Sambo’s had become an enormous tiger indeed, with 113 restaurant units flourishing in 12 states across the country.

Now a restaurant with a name like Sambo's cant possibly survive. Not only the name was a "stumbling block" the design of the interior became an issue. Above the counters were reliefs of the story of lil black Sambo and how he turned a tiger into butter. The reliefs were changed thru the years and Sambo's complexion became noticeably lighter. Oh well... the name had to go. There was an attempt to reinvent the chain in the mid-eighties with a new name and a new image. The chain became "FAMILY SAMS" with Sam the bald eagle as its mascot. The concept failed miserably. In the era of Regan family values this over-patriotic family restaurant reinvented itself into oblivion. These things happen. Most of the restaurants became BAKERS SQUARE then SEASONS then whomever could afford this accursed building.


Part one of MY BREAKFAST WITH BLASSIE filmed at SAMBOS in LOS ANGELES


They Always Come Back:
The original Sambos is still operational as a SAMBOS. Visit it here.
As a bonus here is the mini menu I have been carrying around in my wallet for the past seven years. Sambo is no longer as dark as he used to be. He now wears a turban. I'm sure that's a better image nowadays. Oh Sambos... bad choices since day one.



For some remarkable Sambo's artifacts go here.

Straw Hat Pizza

It was summer, 1959. Frankie Avalon was at the top of the charts and Sandra Dee played “Gidget” in the very first Beach Party movie. The Brooklyn Dodgers had just arrived in Los Angeles but Surfing was the real West Coast craze. The Pacific Coast Highway was dotted with woody wagons, convertibles and bushy, bushy blonde hairdos and burgers were best served in a wrapper through a drive-thru window. California was legendary American landscape and the first Straw Hat Pizza parlor was about to join the list of California icons.

Opening its doors for the first time in San Leandro, a small town on San Francisco Bay, Straw Hat began serving its trailblazing Genuine California Pizza on July 10, 1959. It was an unrivaled pizza with a layered, flaky crust, the freshest toppings, light sauce, and six kinds of naturally aged cheese. Straw Hat’s California creation was unlike any other pizza. It was crisper and tastier, and it satisfied a left coast appetite for fresher, lighter, and more unique offerings. Little did anyone realize at the time, but Straw Hat was on the cutting edge of a taste trend that would last for decades to come.

The first Straw Hat restaurants were modest but lively hangouts with hard bench seating, bright red carpets and flocked wallpaper, and they were a special place for people of all ages. Along with its unique menu and ice cold beer, each establishment featured old time movies, free Charlie Horse rides for kids, and often showcased local banjo bands. People drove for miles to visit Straw Hat. And every Straw Hat restaurant’s top priority was meeting and exceeding its guests’ expectations the motto was “people pleasing pizza.” By 1969, Straw Hat had added a bountiful salad bar was known as the Straw Hat Pizza Palace with locations up and down the California Coast and throughout Southern California.

In the Seventies, Straw Hat introduced its soon-to-be famous Hot Hat stuffed sandwich. The Hot Hat may have had a strange sounding name at first, but it quickly became a best seller, which to this day, remains a hallmark of the brand. As its menu expanded, so did the chain. In the later part of the decade, Straw Hat took on an entirely new look with updated buildings, colors, and logos. And with this new look, Straw Hat was once again on the cutting edge of the industry and was one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in the world. To grow and still maintain its high standards and guest service, Straw Hat, at that time part of the Saga Corporation, introduced a model franchising program. The company developed and implemented some of the best training, quality, service and cleanliness programs which were the envy of the business, and remain in place today. The Saga corporation also owned Howard Johnsons and A&W Rootbeer. Two other places that have virtually disappeared off the planet.

By the mid-Eighties, Straw Hat Pizza was regarded as the dominant pizza restaurant in the Western United States as the Pizza Hut chain was trying to establish a market presence in the same area. Pizza Hut made a move to eliminate a major stumbling block to its own expansion by purchasing all company owned Straw Hat Pizza restaurants in 1987; thus removing its prevailing competition. In reality Straw Hat produced some of the worst pizza on the planet. Its "California style" was a way to describe pizza that was quick cheap and remarkably bland. In the late 70's and early 80's with the pizzerias waining popularity it made its money off the pinball machines and the ever increasing popularity of video games. Pizza Huts ability to simply provide more food for the same price and provide the most current video games ate Straw Hat Pizza alive. The chain is all but a memory.

They always come back:
Today, there are still a few privately owned Straw Hat Pizzeria's. They are totally owned and operated by its cooperative members; its “parent” company is the Straw Hat Cooperative Corporation. Visit a Straw Hat Here or Here.

Pup 'n' Taco

Pup 'N' Taco was a privately-owned chain of fast-food restaurants in Southern California, with its headquarters based in Long Beach, California.
The business was begun by Russell Wendell in 1956. At that time, it was only a drive-in restaurant that served both tacos and hot dogs. At the time Russell owned a chain successful doughnut stores in Los Angeles - Big DoNut - which featured gigantic doughnuts on top of a drive-in bakery.
The first officially branded Pup 'N' Taco was opened in Pasadena, California in 1965.
The menu consisted of tacos, tostadas, pastrami sandwiches, burgers, several varieties of hot dog (the "pup" in Pup 'N' Taco) and french fries. Beverages included R.C. Cola, root beer and a variety of flavored slushes.
Ninety-nine stores were bought by Taco Bell in 1984, effectively ending the history of the chain.


However,

The operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico were not included in the deal and two still exist today as Pop 'N' Taco.

They Always Come Back:
Eat at Pop 'n' Taco Here. The menu has not changed.

Read all about the history of Pup 'n' Taco here.