A restaurant or vending machine system where customers retrieve prepared food from compartments, typically paying at a counter.
From German 'Automat' (automatic machine), derived from 'auto-' (self) + Greek 'automatos' (moving by itself). Popular in early-to-mid 20th century America and Europe.
Horn & Hardart automats were the fast food revolution before McDonald's—they were futuristic for the 1920s, with rows of little glass doors that concealed hot meals you'd grab and go.
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