Talk:Horn & Hardart/Archives/2014

remaining
Are there any remaining automats in the US? -- unsigned
 * As a former patron in both cities, no, not for many years.--DThomsen8 (talk) 03:04, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

disestablishment
article is categorized as 1985 disestablishment, but the Horn & Hardart at 42nd and 2nd didn't close until 1991 (as stated elsewhere in the article). I'm changing the category. -- Akb4 20:33, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

WP:FOOD Tagging
This article talk page was automatically added with WikiProject Food and drink banner as it falls under Category:Restaurants or one of its subcategories. If you find this addition an error, Kindly undo the changes and update the inappropriate categories if needed. You can find the related request for tagging here -- TinucherianBot (talk) 09:51, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:HopperAutomat.jpg
The image Image:HopperAutomat.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check


 * That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
 * That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Media copyright questions. --15:40, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Worse, the picture does not show the distinctive little window dispensers of the classic Automat. --DThomsen8 (talk) 03:06, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

Copyright issue
I'm not a lawyer, and I hate to be a party pooper, but the big excerpt under "Automatic food service" seems too long.--JohnnyB256 (talk) 23:37, 15 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Okay, reduced by 50%. Pepso2 (talk) 00:54, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Memories
The article is quite sterile, as is the Automat article. These were popular, busy restaurants, where in the late 1950s, for under $1.00, one could enjoy a large, if somewhat plain meal, purchased with nickels usually obtained from the cashier. Each stack of glass-doored dispensers had a metal cylinder that could be rotated by the staff on the other side of the vending wall, hiding the contents while they refilled each dispenser in the stack with a plate of salad, pudding, meat, or vegetables. Each dispenser had a slot for one or more nickels, and a knob to rotate the nickels out of view into the internal cash box and to allow the glass door to be raised up and locked in a horizontal position for easy removal of the plate or bowl of food. Some of the rectangular dispensers were heated, some cooled.

My favorite dessert was the vanilla pudding with vanilla sauce, which really tasted quite good. Adults loved the coffee, which was automatically served from an extremely ornate, large dispenser into a cup for a nickel. I'm not sure, but I think the cups had a gold band near the outside top, perhaps the source of their coffee slogan. Their spring-loaded stacks of clean plates (or more probably those of some other restaurant somewhere) may have been the source of the "stack" metaphor in computer science.

I think memories like these belong in an encyclopedia because they give life to the otherwise incomprehensible idea of a restaurant that was a very classy version of the ubiquitous vending area of today. David spector (talk) 01:20, 16 July 2009 (UTC)


 * It is a bit of a sterile article, but I think the illustration is nice. It's hard to put color in an encyclopedia, and of course personal reminiscences by editors are verboten.
 * I used to have an old coffee cup from H&H and it isn't as you described. It was wide at the top and had a kind of green band, as I recall.--JohnnyB256 (talk) 12:05, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

I think you are right about the green band, now that you mention it. The painting is beautiful; my point was that it was not a typical scene in an Automat. They were wonderful, busy restaurants. I was very sad when they started closing. David spector (talk) 23:54, 16 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I can still hear Ed Herlihy advertising “Horn and Hardart restaurants, automats, cafeterias, and Less Work for Mother retail shops located throughout the greater metropolitan area.” On hot summer days, we would go to the automat, find unused lemon wedges from someone’s cup of tea, squeeze them into a glass of water, add a packet of sugar, and enjoy a free do-it-yourself lemonade. Dodiad (talk) 20:22, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

Trivia
There is two famous scenes in Bugs Bunny Cartoons, where Bugs uses the horn and hardart automats. Can't recall the name of each series, but will look around for it. 1) where he's reading a combination of coins in order to purchase an item. 2) where he's purchasing a pie and keeps throwing it at another character. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.237.220.13 (talk) 04:26, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Hair Colored spade
Horn & Hardart is probably most noted now for the mention they get in the lyrics of Hair.

Is this worth a "popular culture" mention? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.110.115.191 (talk) 17:46, 12 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I believe that is precisely what In popular culture is for. There was such a section (At the time headed Cultural impact), and the mention in Hair was one of the items in it. The section lacked references and was deleted, in part for that reason, according to the edit summary. I put the section back, using the In popular culture heading, and restored the item I had contributed there (P.D.Q. Bach: Concerto for Horn and Hardart), this time with a proper reference. Perhaps someone more familiar with the mention in Hair can put that back in.
 * Rhsimard (talk) 01:01, 27 October 2011 (UTC)
 * (There are lots of Internet lyrics sites that include the Hair lyrics, but I really don't know which ones can be considered reliable enough to cite.)
 * Rhsimard (talk) 01:13, 27 October 2011 (UTC)
 * (A personal note obviously inappropriate for the article, but probably OK here:
 * As a native Californian, when I first read the "Biography" of P.D.Q. Bach, the name Horn and Hardart was completely foreign to me, so I more or less skimmed that section. Later, when in New York on business, I went by a Burger King. At the time, Horn and Hardart was running the franchise, and all the employee badges read "Horn and Hardart (line break) Burger King"; thus, the meaning and the humor of the "Concerto" suddenly came through.  As sometimes happens when one is suddenly confronted with something humorous and unexpected, I broke out laughing like crazy for a few seconds, eliciting a few stares from the quite dense crowd there.  I later explained to the young lady who took my order.)
 * Rhsimard (talk) 01:26, 27 October 2011 (UTC)
 * That was you? Herostratus (talk) 02:04, 27 October 2011 (UTC)
 * LOL, Herostratus!
 * OK, the Hair item is back in, at the top of the list. The official website for Hair includes a link to a lyrics site which includes the song, so I should think that would be a reliable reference.
 * Rhsimard (talk) 02:25, 27 October 2011 (UTC)
 * (Update: Whoops! Herostratus and I both added the item. Leaving his in.)
 * Rhsimard (talk) 02:36, 27 October 2011 (UTC)

Revival: coffee
I just saw a rack of Horn & Hardart coffee in my local supermarket. So they are now distributing to retail. I took a picture but it may not be the best. If anybody wants to research and/or expand on this section, maybe follow the ownership/transfer of the name from one entity to another, it would probably be a good idea.. and I would contribute my photo... although I still have to check to make sure if it's any good. :) I personally don't have time to do this research for references. Centerone (talk) 20:11, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

another neil simon usage
In The_Out-of-Towners_(1970_film) they pass by one a couple times on the way to their hotel. You can even see a poster in the window reading "Eat the country of your choice"...like the one HERE. (totally diff bldg, btw)

They are on Park Ave between 39th and 40th in the story...does this correspond to an actual location of yore? (can't seem to find a list myself)

Moreover, was that slogan/poster common to their shops? Should definitely be mentioned in the article then!

And now, I've gotta ask about the bldg IN that photo. Can someone ID that location from the subway stop? I must say, that looks NOTHING like a cafeteria there! Is it some MUSEUM or some bank/store/etc just using the poster as "retro" decor? 209.172.25.165 (talk) 07:09, 20 July 2014 (UTC)