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Diners could sit wherever they chose. Automats could be great equalizers because paupers and investment bankers might sit together at the same table. And Automats were something special to children. With a handful of change, they could choose a meal from foods they liked.
Horn & Hardart Automats had a strict fresh-food policy. No food could be left overnight in any of its restaurants—or its retail shops (whose motto was "Less Work for Mother"), which sold prepackaged Automat food. After closing time each day, Horn & Hardart trucks carried surplus food to "day-old" shops. New York and Philadelphia each had three, located in low-income neighborhoods, which sold these items at reduced prices.
Automats enforced quality control. The leather-bound rule book every manager received listed the proper handling of the nearly 400 menu items, described precisely where to position the buffet-style food on the plates and stated the number of times employees were to wipe tabletops each day.
Daily, founders Horn and Hardart and other executives lunched together at the Sample Table (or the "ulcer table," as some disgruntled workers dubbed it). To test for quality and uniformity, they ate regular items and offered suggestions for new ones. And they judged whether new ingredients that outside suppliers offered were superior to those that were already in use.
Between courses, samplers sipped black coffee. Each day that beverage came from a different Horn & Hardart outlet. In this way, Horn & Hardart performed spot checks on coffee, the most commonly ordered item. The precise amount gushed from the mouth of a chrome dolphin’s head (copied from a Pompeian fountain) at an exactly calibrated temperature.
Horn & Hardart’s coffee became known as the best in town. In their heyday in the 1950s, Automats sold more than 90 million cups of fresh-brewed coffee each year. From 1912 to 1950, a cup cost a nickel.
Horn & Hardart introduced the first fresh-drip brewed coffee to Philadelphia and New York. Before then, coffee on the East Coast had been a harsh, brackish drink made by boiling it interminably with eggshells to clarify it.
After brewing each batch of their coffee, Horn & Hardart employees filled out a time card. After 20 minutes, they discarded whatever coffee remained and prepared more. Irving Berlin, the composer of "God Bless America," wrote a famous song about this delicious brew, "Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee," which became Horn & Hardart’s theme song.
Comments
Thank you for this walk down memory lane. As a child growing up in a very difficult financial setting the vision of my parents, my brother and I celebrating birthdays at H and H is unforgettable. I seem to remember Thanksgiving dinner there too although I am not sure if they were open on holidays. We lived in a poor community in Philadelphia and would take the PTC trolley car to Frankford Ave. for these special dinners at Horn and Hardart. Our dinner consisted of mashed potatoes, Harvard beets, and creamed spinach. This was a meal fit for a king and I still savor the taste. I am sure that a day like this in the 1940's did not cost my parents more than $5 or $6 dollars but my brother and I were on top of the world. Thank you for the article and thanks to Mr. Horn and Mr. Hardart..................Fran Chelder
Posted by Fran Chelder on February 16,2009 | 08:44 PM
I also fondly remember at least a few trips to the automat as a child with my grandmother, possibly in the Passaic or Paterson, New Jersey area. I was fascinated by Automats, along with those big containers that dispensed a gallon milk at various street corners.
Posted by dawn on April 29,2009 | 11:12 AM
Having been brought up in Philadelphia during the late-'40s, I am pleased to inform you of my intimate relationship with the H and H automat - particularly the one located across from The Academy of Music where, a decade later, I performed opera and ballet. Not only because of the convenience of its locale, but also for its reasonable-priced cuisine and what I considered "the best cup of coffee in Philly," H and H was my "office" between sets. Now, whenever I return home for a visit, I always stare at the spot where the automat once stood ... with a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat, in desperate need of a cup of that exquisite java that once so efficiently kept me going!
Posted by Ellis E. Seamone on May 4,2009 | 12:30 AM
Hi, I went to Horn and Hardart so many times.My Dad also worked there.It was my favorite.There will never be another. I remember a song " less work for Mother dear". I don't know if that was the title,but if you could send me the title it would be great.Maybe the lyric's it would bring many memories. Thank you
Posted by Arlene on May 10,2009 | 04:54 PM
H&H was one of my families favorite restaurant and we really miss this great place and it will never come back.Imagine having a tasty and fresh meal for only pocket change,with no waiting and sitting wherever you wanted to sit.My children just can not fathom this type of restaurant as they were closed prior their birth. It really brings back pleasant memories and I really would give anything to be able to go to a automat for even one time.
Posted by russell zoppina on May 11,2009 | 01:26 PM
Horn & Hardart was started by my great grandfather Joseph Horn...He eventually sold the company and everything went downhill after that!...I do miss their food & hospitality!...
Posted by Carla Horn on July 19,2009 | 04:04 AM
I remember the automat on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn. My favorite food were the fish cakes and baked beans which were served in a little brown bowl. It was fun with all the nickels. The dining area was enormous...well for an 8 year old it was. I just can't imagine though going to it today and eating sushi!
Posted by Roberta on July 28,2009 | 10:08 AM
The automat on 14th Street in Manhattan...after Mom & I would shop for bargains at Klein's...we would head around the corner to H&H Automat...where I savored the most delicious chopped steak, and real gravy the best mashed potatoes and creamed spinach in the world...rice pudding.Later on I would have my lunch at the W57th Street automat. A clean and state of the art example of a caring Corporation in America that took pride in its product. Perhaps before its time! A wonderful example of organization that someone should take off with today.I also enjoyed the H&H Childrens Hour.
Posted by Helene Sachnin on July 28,2009 | 11:41 AM
I grew up in Phila and went to H & H weekly with my grandparents, I remember where every restaurant was located. Every Philadelphian I talk to had their favorites, I loved the mac and cheese, harvard beets, baked beans and tapioca pudding.
I miss H & H.
Posted by andrea Kline on July 28,2009 | 12:25 AM
I USE TO GO THERE WHEN I WORKED AT PHONE COMPANY ON FRANKFORT AVE. LOVED SPAGETTI AND SALSBURY STEAK. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE WE CAN GET RECEIPES??? I MISS H&H ALSO
Posted by CATHY on August 6,2009 | 01:11 PM
I was telling my neice about H & H and how much fun it was to eat there when my Mother & I were in Philly for the day.
I was reminicing about the choc chip pound cake - my favorite - I'd love to have that recipe!Sure do miss those good old days.
Posted by Inez Ross on September 9,2009 | 08:39 PM
My favorite was an warm apple dumpling with warm vanilla sauce.
Posted by Cath Jacquinto on September 10,2009 | 10:20 AM
Every year around Christmas my Aunt Rose and Uncle Tex, who did not have children, would travel to West New York, New Jersey to pick up my sister and me for a trip into New York City. We would have lunch at H & H. I would always have a ham and cheese sandwich and chocolate milk. We would then go to Macy's to visit Santa Claus and have our photo taken with Santa. We would then select our Christmas presents. These are fond childhood memories of H & H.
Posted by Vince Lombardi on September 30,2009 | 02:29 PM
I have wonderful,childhood memories of H & H; seeing a piece of pie behind the glass and putting nickels in to get one. We would go to Macy's and then to H & H. It was fun to be able to look at all the items behind the glass and make a choice.
Posted by Peggy Boag on October 7,2009 | 02:10 AM
I had similar experiences at H&H. As a child, it was my favorite place to go to with my little Irish grandmother. We would go to one of the downtown Philadelphia automats. I cherish those moments. I purchased the book, The Automat, written by Lorraine B.Diehl and Marianne Hardart. You will love this book, especially if you crave recipes like baked beans and rice pudding. What a read ! I think it's still in print. Oh, I forgot, I also worked at the H&H on the Roosevelt Blvd. as a waitress during the summer before my Junior year of high school. I gained 15 pounds that summer.
Posted by Eileen Burke on October 20,2009 | 06:23 AM
What I wouldn't give to walk in to a H&H today . . . just one more time. Like many others that posted here before me, I grew up in Philadelphia and visited several H&H automats: the usual one under the "El" on Frankford Avenue by Oxford Ave.; another by Lit Brothers on Cottman Avenue (in the "great northeast"); and one downtown on Market Street, I believe.
The Frankford Avenue H&H had an H&H bakery outlet just across the street. We would pick up a box of their hot cross buns, and a container of their wonderful rice pudding with raisins. Spotlessly clean counter help, wearing hair nets, would carefully tie each package with string to carry -- no matter if it were one package or ten. They all received the same care and attention.
My favorites dinner items: Salisbury steak, mac and cheese and harvard beets. The restaurant was spacious, and each clank of a spoon on a coffee cup would reverberate throughout the space. The decor was sparse, not "vintage" items on the wall, no TV's . . . which made it easier to pay attention to the person you were with, and enjoy conversation.
If anyone would want to correspond on their memories of H&H, or if you would like to start an H&H forum, let me know. I'm involved with internet services, and I'm testing the waters for an H&H Memories group online.
I be checking back from time to time.
Posted by Frank D. on December 8,2009 | 12:15 PM
Thoughout the years, right around Christmas time memories go back to my teen years living in Philadelphia. My sister and I would take the subway to Center City to go Christmas shopping. We could go anywhere to shop but Market Street was the most exciting place to be. We had very little money to spend but always made sure we had enough money left to go to H&H a get a piece of pumpkin pie and a cup of hot chocolate.
There was nothing else like H & H! We would take a tray and walk down the isles taking time to look at everything. As I remember, it seems like the interior of the restaurant had marble walls or floors and brass fixtures. I distinctly remember hot chocolate was dispensed from a lion head fixture. Steamy frothy hot chocolate. Fond memories....
I could continue on and talk about my favorite store, John Wanamakers but I think the main topic here is H & H. Thank you for creating a place where we can post our stories of H & H.
Posted by Norma Sachar on December 14,2009 | 09:38 PM
My Dad worked for Horn and Hardart as a quality control engineer from when I was born to when the plant closed. I have many treasured memories of the Christmas Party. We would go to the plant on Thanksgiving and Christmas to pick up our turkey and fixings. We would always take a tour of the plant. The plant was in center city on or close to Camac St. The reason Horn and Hardart folded is that it moved the plant to Northeast Philly on Blue Grass Road. They had a contract with Food Fair Stores. The move to a larger plant, the cost involved and the fast food trends caused H&H demise. Horn and Hardarts had no pension plan and all the employees got a severence pay. Luckily, my Dad worked at H&H with federal inspectors. The Federal Inspectors notified my Dad that there was a position open as a Lower Merion Health Inspector and he worked there until retirement and then when went back as an advisor.
Posted by Edward J. Rocks on December 21,2009 | 01:41 PM
What fond memories a trip to the Automat brings to New York Baby Boomers! I remember my family's annual Holiday trip to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show followed by a meal at the Horn and Hardart Automat. For kids who lived in Brooklyn, this was really high living in the Big Apple. My dad loved the coffee and my favorites were macaroni and cheese and apple pie. Thank you to the Horn and Hardart families for providing such a beloved American tradition.
Posted by Carol Malicki on January 23,2010 | 11:31 PM