[Kimmie]

Here's hubby's fond memory:

As for the Automats, I remember whole walls of little doors, each one with a single food article inside. You took a tray and circulated along a counter, looking in little micowave-sized spaces for something you wanted. It was a combination of a buffet, where you took a tray and the modern vending machine, where you chose a single food item, only the food was hot as well as cold stuff. Suzanne was right...often, invisible people, working out-of-sight behind the rows of little wooden doors, would replace a food item that had been removed, and a hand would appear. It was a real kick for me as a kid. I also remember stuff was replaced quickly, and it was not necessarily replaced with the same article. I also remember only seeing this in NY; I think they may have only existed in NYC, but I wouldn't like to swear to this!

I remember them as being the logical precursor to today's buffet counter, because I remember thinking of them specifically when I saw my first buffet counter.