A+D Film Screening: The Automat

Date: 4/22/26 6:59 PM
Website: adfilmseries.org
Location: Burlington, Brattleboro and virtual

Originating in Philadelphia, Horn & Hardart’s Automat was America’s
original and most beloved restaurant chain where generations of
Americans ate and drank coffee at elegant communal marble
tables, free from social barriers. Pie? Coffee? Put your nickel in,
then open the little glass door to a freshly made delight. This ritual
made Horn & Hardart the place to meet, where people connected
over good food and coffee. The Automat illustrates how the company
served the public great food and at the same time treated its
employees with fairness and integrity. The legacy of the Automat
spans a century, chronicling it’s rise as an iconic restaurant
chain that inspired Starbucks, and it’s eventual decline, sealed
by the rise of fast food that forever transformed the American
dining landscape.
Directed by Lisa Hurwitz, 2021, USA, 79 Minutes

Contact: A+D Film Series
Email: adfilmseries@ gmail.com