Personal foul. One of the recurring comments for a long time in the hospitality sector and that has caused some to talk again about technological projects that allow bars and restaurants to be automated to do without the majority of workers on the other side of the bar. A near future? Actually, a distant past because automatic bars already had their heyday in the first half of the 20th century. A recent documentary recalls the history of these places that also came to Spain.
In 1932, the Automatic bar opened at number 8 of the Rambla de Canaletas. Located in the Continental Hotel, according to the history of this establishment, it is the first bar of its kind in the country. He was not the only one, because during that decade this model of bars flourished in various cities, which were the pinnacle of modernity.
In Madrid, the Toki Ona and, above all, the Tanger became very popular, with a similar model: spacious premises with a very careful and modern design for the time, and a counter full of small glass lockers in which, after inserting a coin, the customer could take the food himself.
In reality, the automatic bars and the mechanical systems associated with this way of serving food were created in Germany. But it was in the United States where they succeeded the most and lasted the longest. A success linked to a brand: Horn
In 1902 they opened their first location in Philadelphia, 10 years later in New York, and during the 1920s and 1950s they had more than 150 restaurants throughout the country and served 800,000 customers a day.
The documentary The Automat -available on HBO, but only for the United States- reviews the history of these successful venues at the hands of illustrious protagonists. None other than Mel Brooks is the host of this documentary released in 2022 and for which he even composed a song.
A clue to the cultural and historical significance that Horn's automatics
But going back to the golden age of automatics, there are many factors that cemented its success. Cheap and, as everyone remembers, simple and quality food is one of them. In 2002 a book (The Automat: The History, Recipes, and Allure of Horn
Coffee was another key part of the business. Not only because it is of remarkable quality -many remember- or because of the iconic metallic penguin heads of the automatic coffee dispensers, but also because of its price: 5 cents.
The nickel -as coins of this value are popularly known- was the currency in the Horn
Those who miss it, for a few months can prepare it at home. More than a century after its creation and thirty years after the closure of its last store, the Horn brand
In it, by the way, Howard Schultz, one of the founders of Starbucks coffee shops, also appears. The memory of when he stepped foot in an Automat for the first time as a child ensures that it marked his career and the experience he wanted for the customers of his cafeterias.
For those of you who until recently had never heard of these restaurants, it may sound a bit of an exaggeration to cite them as an icon of American culture. But sociologists and historians agree in pointing out the role they played for years as part of the social mechanisms.
The immigrants who arrived in New York during the first half of the 20th century saw in these places a way to avoid language problems -they did not have to speak to anyone to order food-, and also a way to integrate into the customs of the country.
In the 1920s, the incorporation of women into work made thousands of them look for a place to eat in the city every noon. The "automatics" -they explain in the documentary- were seen as safe spaces for them, where they felt more comfortable than in a traditional restaurant where there were only men.
During the good years, the low price and abundance of food was seen as a triumph of capitalism in its most optimistic version: there was everything for everyone. In the Great Depression, the Horns
Everyone was welcome, so these restaurants became places of conviviality even in times of racial segregation. There was no need to tip, a cup of coffee was enough to spend many hours there, the usual thing was to share a table...
Company records say that in 1953 they served more than two million veal pies, ten million pies and more than three million hamburgers. That mass production capability led Horn
And what happened after the 1960s for an empire of this magnitude to begin to fall? The increase in the price of coffee that started to cost 10 cents is pointed out as the beginning of the end. But of course there were many more factors. For example, housing estates on the outskirts of cities began to displace population, who no longer stayed out for dinner after work.
The first fast food chains took note of the model, simplifying the menu and facilities, and began to take customers away from places that had lost their glamour.
Especially in New York, where the increase in crime in the 70s, became very popular in these places where, many former customers remember, the food was still good and cheap, but the atmosphere had become very seedy.
In Spain they lasted much less. After the initial success during the Second Republic, the Civil War and the Postwar period ended all traces of modernity, including automatic bars. Dutch chain Febo is the closest thing to an automatic bar that is possibly left in the world. They are still quite popular and curiosity makes many of those who visit Amsterdam stop by one to try it.
Nothing to do with the spectacular places of yesteryear, but rather a kind of vending machine and some high tables where you can eat the chips, hamburgers and croquettes -their best-known dish- that wait behind some glass. And that, as in the original automatics, on the other side the workers are replenishing.
Beyond this curiosity and the systems that have been introduced in many chains where you barely have to talk to anyone to place an order and pick up the food, the truth is that the models that have tried to imitate the idea of automatics with a plus of technology have failed.
The best known case is that of Eatsa in San Francisco, which in 2015 presented itself as "the future of restaurants". Screens, windows behind which the food waited... In 2019 it closed its only two stores and rethought its business model to become a technology company that sold its systems to other restaurants. Among them, by the way, Starbucks, which has a stake in the project.
