The sun., 1903-07-18
The Automatic Restaurant.
From The Scientific .american.


Now we have the automatic restaurant.
a gigantic slot machine or combination OF
slot machines, from which we can purchase
food and drink. The wonder ls that this
idea Is not of American, but OF German.
origin. Automatic restaurants have been
a familiar sight in many OF the more promi
nent European cities for the last nine years.
New York's restaurant. in principle, Is
very much the same as those OF the German
towns. IL is fitted up much more elaborately.
however. There are no walters in the usually
accepted sense OF that term. The two or
three white-aproned men who nonchaantlv
roam around without apparently much 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 or cohrc.
and you carry what you have bought to your
table. If you are in hurry you may stand
and eat. and enjoy what Is popularity known
as perpendicular meal
In describing the automatic restaurant,
il may be well to divide its various Appliances
into three classes. The first class OF ma
chimes sell hot food by means OF coins ana
checks; the second dispense cold food (salhds.
desselts) by the use of coins alone, and the
third sell liquids (beer. wine, coffee. whiskey.
LIQUORS, Sc.l by the use OF ooins alone.
Tho bill of fare is printed upon board IN
which the slots are located Each slot bears
a reference letter. Opposite slot small
plaoard is pasted which gives the name of
the particular dish to bs purchased by drop
ping a coin in the slot. Similar legends are
printed upon the placards pasted opposite
After the desired dish has been selected,
coin of the proper denomination is dropped
into the corresponding slot. A handle -
pulled. which rings bell in the basement:
brass check is delivered. The com mas
dropped down a chute, which lies adjacent
to an elevator and Is held in place at the bot, o.
tom by a retaining device. BY counting tn"
number of coins as they lie side by side aboN"
the retaining device, the attendants know
exactly how many dishes Of that partlcuaTr
the retaining device il released. so that
coin drops into receptacle, leaving behind
number Of coins r; Gorresbponans pc 70 Ds FRS
food attractively served in neat chinaware,
is placed on a slvered metal tray in one of
tho compartments o. the s sleva,or tho esrator anu
tc the floor above The purchaser sees his
dish as it lies in the elevator behind glass
PARTITION he cannot reaeM t n1wGNerc hoTs re- ne
discharge opening. Not until he has dropped
his brass check into second slot, bearing
a reference letter corresponding 10 that OF
tho coin slot. and pulled another handle.
will the elevator descend suiiclentiy To enaoIe
him 20 obtain his purchase.
Here, one peCull TltE IN tue Slot lieVhaHlSlH
Of the automatic restaurant should be men.
toned spurious coins. as well as CONS OF
improper value, fail TO operate the mechanism.
| An honest slot machine Is probably as rare
as an honest man. The automatic restaurant
| machines. however, are far more trust
worthy than many human beings, Coins
| of improper value which have been erron-
| eously inserted are returned. The purchaser
| is not cheated.
Cold foods. such as salads and dess nrts
| are placed upon the elevator of another
| sectian and raised 10 the purchasing floor
| in full view, protected, OF course. BY glass
| partitions. In order to purchase what one
desires. it ia necessary simply 20 drop com
in the slot and to pull handle, The elevator
| then descends one step so that the particular
salad or dessert can be withdrawn from the
discharge opening just az in the previous
case. No checks are here used. since me
| dishes are cold and the attendants below need
not be informed Of the particular kind OF 1000
| desired.
The LIQUOR r-dispersing machines have for
| their most interesting feature a selI-meas,
of liquor is dispensed which is the cxact
! equivalent in quantity Of the value OF the
| money received II ia rather cur ious TO oo-
serve that for five-cent piece glass o. bc.r
KImmel n 'diotine and other LIQUORS AZ, @se
sold with like mechanical accuracy lhn
glasses are brimful not a drop too muSh
| trickles out Of the cask ,,o,
The valve by which coffee Is dlsgenSI,ss
| is Of similar construction The coffee u
| kept hot by means Of u vessel contatnins
water, within which the coffee tank 'tseR ''
contained.
New York is by no means the first American
philadelphia anticipated 1t by som" monIihs oins
| The Philadelphia equipment is exactly similar
| mechanically. to that of New York. Rcst tau-
rants on the same principle ar, soor 70 w
opened In Chicago and the leading America"