Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-08-14
The Automatic Restaurant.
Scientific American

Scfentific Americana
Now we have the automatic restaur-
ant, a gigantic slot machine or combin-
alton of slot machines, from which We
can purchase food and drink. The
wonder is that this idea is not Of Am
erican, but of German origin. Auto
matte restaurants have been familiar
sight in nancy oftthe more prominent
European cities of the last nine years
New Yorks restaurant. in principle
is very much the same as those Of the
German town. Ii is fitted up mucn
more elaborately, however. There are
no walters in the usually accepted
sense of that term. The two or three
white-aproned men who nonchalantly
roam around without apparently mucn
to- do are there not to serve meals
but to remove the empty dishes. You
must serve yourself. You buy your
portion of meat or soup, your glass
of beer or wine, or your cup of coffee
and you carry what you have Dough:
you may stand and eat, and enjoy what
is popularity known as "perpendicu-
lar meal"
In describing the automatic restaur-
ant, it may be we'll to divide its var
ious appliances into three classes. The
first class of machines sell hot food by
means OF coins and checks; the second
dispense cold food Salads, desserts)
by the use Of coins alone; and the
third sell liquids (beer wine. coffee,
whisky, liquors, etc) by the use OF
coins alone.
The bill of fare is printed upon a
board in which the slots are located
Each slot bears a reference letter. OPP
posite slot A a small placard is pasted
which gives the name of the particu-
lar dish to be purchased by dropping
a coin in the slot. Similar legends
are printed upon the placards pasted
opposite slots B. c, d. etc.
After the desired dish has been Sc
lected a coin of the proper denomina-
ton is dropped into the corresponding
slot. A handle is pulled, which rings
a bell in the basement, and signals the
attendants. simultaneously brass
check is delivered The coin has drop
ped down a chute. which lies adjacent
to an elevator and is held in place at
the bottom by a retaining device. BY
counting the number of coins as they
lie side by side above the retaining
device, the attendants know exactly
how many dishes OF that particular
food are wanted AS each dish is served
the retaining device is released, so that
coin drops into a receptacle, leaving
behind number of coins correspond
ing to the number of dishes still to
be served. The food, attractively served
in neat chinaware, is placed on sill
vered metal tray in one of the compart-
ments OF. the elevator. and a crank is
turned in order to raise the elevator
to the floor above. The purchaser sees
his dish as 1t lies in the elevator be-
hind glass partition: he can not reach
it, however, because it has been lifted
somewhat above the discharge opening.
Not until he has dropped his brass
check into second slot. bearing ref
erence letter corresponding to that of
the coin slot, and pulled another han.
die, will the elevator descend sufficient
ly to enable him to obtain his pur-
chase.
Here, one popularity in the slot
mechanism of the automatic restaurant
should be mentioned. Spurious coins,
as well as coins of improper value fail
TO operate the mechanism. An honest
slot machine is probably as rare as an
honest man. The automatic restaurant
however, are far more trust
worthy than many human beings.
Coins of improper value which have
been enormously inserted are returned.
The purchaser is not cheated.
Cold foods. such as salads and des-
serts, are placed upon the elevator of
another section and raised to the pur-
chasing floor in full view, protected. of
by glass partitions. In order
to purchase what one desires, 1t is nee
essary simply to drop a coin in the slot
and to pull a handle. The elevator then
descends one step so that the particu-
lar salad or dessert can be withdrawn
from the discharge opening just as in
the previous case. No checks are here
used. since the dishes are cold and the
attendants below need not be Informed
OF the particular kind OF food desired.
The liquor dispensing machines have
for their most interesting feature
self-measuring valve by means of
which an amount of liquor is dispensed
which is the exact equivalent in guam
titv of the value of the money received
It Is rather curious to observe that for
a scent piece a glass OF beer-no more
and no less--runs out of the faucet
Kunnel. Benedlctine and other liquors
are sold with like mechanical accuracy.
.Ihe glasses are brimful; not drop too
much trickles out of the cask.
TIE valve by which coffee is dis
oensed is Of similar construction. The
coffee is kept hot by means of vessel
containing water, within which the COT
Zee tank itself is contained
New York Is by no means the first
American city to possess an automatic
Philadelphia anticipated It
BIZ some mtonths. The Philadelphia
equipment is exactly similar, mechani-
ANY. to that of New York Restaurants
N the same principle are soon to be
opened in Chicago ana the leading
American cities.