AUTOMATIC SERVING COUNTER FOR LUNCH ROOMS (Oct, 1923)
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Oct, 1923
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Seems like this would be a loud place to eat, what with all the dishes sliding down chutes and all.
AUTOMATIC SERVING COUNTER FOR LUNCH ROOMS
An automatic serving-counter for lunch rooms and restaurants is intended to eliminate the need of waiters. When the customer enters a restaurant where one of these appliances is installed, he finds a clean tray, having tiny wheels, and a menu card before his seat. After checking off his order on the card, which is later used as a pay check, he places it on the tray, pushes a button, and the wheeled tray travels on a track to the kitchen. Here, the cook fills the order and sends the tray back to the counter. At the completion of the meal, when the customer rises from his seat, the tray travels again to the kitchen with the soiled dishes.
So you stand to shake hands with someone and your tray drops down the chute…
Comment by Rick Auricchio — May 27, 2007 @ 12:47 pm
Ah, the roaring ’20s, when people actually longed for technological innovations which would completely depersonalize their day-to-day existence.
Comment by fluffy — May 27, 2007 @ 1:47 pm