ScreenShots: “The Automat”

And so it was with “The Automat,” director Lisa Hurwitz’ love letter to the revolutionary food-for-a-nickel architectural wonder that welcomed New Yorkers of all races, creeds and political leanings, fed them for pocket change, and let them sit unbothered for hours as long as they all ate together.

As Hurwitz details, mainly through interviews with New Yorkers famous and not-so, these culinary dispensaries were once the largest restaurant chain in the United States, despite the fact that they only operated in two cities. The brainchild of partners Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart, the Automat was inspired by a German restaurant that delivered pre-ordered meals to patrons via dumbwaiter. Horn and Hardart streamlined the service further: put the required number of nickels in a slot, turn a button, and a brass-trimmed window would open, and you’d pull out a plate of creamed spinach, Salisbury steak, mac and cheese, you name it.

A steady stream of disciples, some famous now and mere children when they visited the mechanical wonder that fed them and their families for mere pennies on the dollar, do rhapsodize over their favorite dishes – down to the nickel a cup coffee dispensed from a magical dolphin head spout.

Hurwitz talks with surviving corporate officers and employees, examines the golden years when the Automat was depicted in movies or served as the chosen locales for important civic events and premiers. The restaurants were bright and attractive, with marble counters, half-balconies, elaborately detailed high ceilings and an employee-care program that guaranteed hard work and loyalty.