Horn & Hardart Automat Cafeteria on Avenue of the Americas at West 45th St., New York City, 1959. Horn & Hardart opened the first food service automat in New York City at Times Square on July 2, 1912. They took the concept from a successful German version. Their slogan was "Less Work for Mother." By the mid 20th century, there were over 50 Horn & Hardart restaurants in New York, serving 350,000 customers a day. In the 1960s, fast food franchises grew popular, and the automats began to close.

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