Horn & Hardart opened their first automat on June 9, 1902. The history of these restaurants and its impact on Philadelphia is beautifully captured in an article by Dr. Stephen Nepa in The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. The following section is from that 2013 article:
Beloved by generations of diners and immortalized in art, song, cinema, and poetic verse, Automats, also known as “automatics” or “waiterless restaurants,” were popular manifestations of an early-twentieth century modernizing impulse. Influenced by Frederick W. Taylor’s studies of scientific management and the widespread use of the assembly line, the Automat removed the process of ordering food through a professional waitstaff and allowed customers a faster dining experience via coin-operated vending machines. Designed to streamline dining out while offering a broad choice of freshly prepared menu items, Automats were integral features of Greater Philadelphia’s restaurant industry from the early 1900s through the mid-1960s.
Automats first appeared in Germany and Scandinavia in the 1890s. The first Automat in the United States opened in 1902 near New York’s Union Square. However, it failed to gain mass appeal and closed three years later. The Philadelphia area’s first Automat is credited to Joseph Horn (1861-1941) and Frank Hardart (1850-1918), whose local baking company imported the technology from Quisiana, a Berlin-based manufacturer….
Philadelphian Horn and New Orleans transplant Hardart had operated luncheonettes and bakeries in Center City since partnering in 1888. For their first Automat, they chose a site at 818 Chestnut Street. It proved an immediate sensation. After it debuted June 9, 1902, the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Horn and Hardart had solved the city’s “rapid transit luncheon problem” of feeding people on the go. Their official slogan, “less work for mother,” affirmed their goal for faster restaurant service.
In 1932, there were over 40 restaurants, of which fewer than 20 were automats, in the Greater Philadelphia area and dozens more in New York. The company was thriving.
However, after the second World War, Horn & Hardart struggled to keep up with modern times. Changing tastes, reliance on automobiles and the flight to the suburbs slowed business. Urban renewal would claim at least one location when the company was forced to closed their commissary to make way for dorms at Thomas Jefferson University. One location at 16th and Chestnut hoped to revive business by selling alcohol, but to no avail.
The original Automat, at 818 Chestnut Street was auctioned off to the highest bidder in 1969. The interior of the venerable old restaurant was donated to the National Museum of American History and everything else sold. Horn and Hardart continued to limp until 1981 when the company filed for bankruptcy. May 12, 1990 saw the last location close it doors, ending the company’s near ninety-year run as Philadelphia eating institution.
This list, compiled from an undated address list and some research. Some locations may be missing. If you know of more, please leave a comment or e-mail me.
Automats/Cafeterias
234 Market St.
339 Market St.
818 Chestnut St.
808 Arch St.
909 Market St.
1508 Market St.
11th & Market Sts.
101 S. Juniper St.
219 S. Broad St.
248 N. Broad St.
1601 Chestnut St.
1815-17 E. Allegheny
11th & Ludlow Sts.
1321 Market St.
5141 Market St.
Cafeterias
104 S. 8th St.
11th & Market Sts.
101 S. Juniper St.
1508 Market St.
5537 Germantown
4670 Frankford Ave.
3413 Woodland Ave.
6826 Market St.
3638 N. Broad St.
219 S. Broad St.
6006 Market St.
14 Broadway
Restaurant Service
136 Market St.
730 Market St.
104 S. 8th St.
26 N. 11th St.
11th & Ludlow Sts.
106 S. 11th St.
101 S. Juniper St.
126 S. 4th St.
244 N. Broad St.
Broad & Chestnut
818 Chestnut St.
1508 Market St.
1601 Chestnut St.
3940 Chestnut St.
4847 N. Broad St.
1429 Arch St.
11 S. 18th St.
23 W. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore
412 Old York Rd.
54th & City Line
Retail Shops
232 Market St.
732 Market St.
820 Chestnut St.
17 S. 11th St.
1601 Chestnut St.
3951 Market St.
5137 Market St.
6008 Market St.
3634 N. Broad St.
4847 N. Broad St.
5706 N. Broad St.
5539 Germantown
5543 N. 5th Ave.
4647 Frankford Ave.
5233 Frankford Ave.
6828 Market St.
6333 Woodland Ave.
2710 Germantown
5048 Baltimore Ave.
7308 Frankford Ave.
7200 Ogontz Ave.
6038 Castor Ave.
23 W. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore
881 Main St., Darby
231 Haverford Ave., Narberth
412 Old York Rd., Jenkintown
63rd & Lancaster Ave., Overbrook
16 Broadway, Camden
719 Haddon Ave., Collingswood
144 Kings Highway, E. Haddonfield
Day Old Shops
243 S. 10th St.
108 W. Girard Ave.
Your missing the H&H at Germantown and chelten aves. Would have been the 5600 block of Germantown ave. It was just a doorway that lead to a large automat in the basement of I don’t know which stores. Between C.W. Rowls and Woolworths. No storefront at all, just a doorway. I went there many times.
There was one between the Mercantile Library and the Wurlitzer building at 10th and Chestnut. Dug up some photos in the city archives of it if you’re interested.
I could have sworn that my family ate at an H and H on Market between 4th and 5th. Am I wrong?
My father was infatuated with “Betty the potato girl” or, as he sometimes referred to her, “Betty aux pommes de terre” from Christmas 1935 to Christmas 1937, when he was a West Point cadet. He first encountered her at the S. 18th St. restaurant. His mother helped track her down when she was transferred to the Ardmore location. Thank you for providing the details to fill in the story.
Yes. I was thinking it was on Market between 4th and 5th too. It seems that was around the 1940s.I don’t recall any between second and third. Maybe I am mixing that one and/or the one in the next block in my memory. I was thinking it was on the South side of Market St.
I’m so glad this was available to me. i loved sharing the memory, even if I’m off a few blocks. I wish I could take my Grandkids or even my kid to see the Automat.
There was an H&H at Cottman and Large St. in NE Philadelphia. Think it was a cafeteria. Also a H&H restaurant service at Rossevelt Blvd and Robbins Ave, also in NE Philadelphia. Also another H&H in the Bala Cynwyd shopping center. This was the last one to close. Also another H&H location in Landsdowne, PA
@ Jim Katilaus/ My pop always took me 2 the 1 @ Cottman& Large as a child in the 60s! the building is still there,I think it is a Dutch food market.
There’s a Furniture store there now. The Dutch Market is next to what used to the Food Fair store.
When did the H&H at 11th & market close
Bala Cynwyd Shopping Center had one; last one to close
There was one in Willow Grove, too.
Do you know the location of the Philadelphia commissary where the food was made? My grandfather would tell stories of trucks lining up to deliver pumpkins in the fall for pie making. I’m curious if that was near where he lived in Fishtown.
Kristin,
Here’s what I found about the commissary location. Later the commissary was relocated up in NE Philly near the Northeast Philly Airport, but for a long time it was at 202 S.10th Street
“Customers from politicians and factory workers to secretaries and policemen enjoyed a plethora of food choices and comparatively low cost. For less than fifty cents, diners could eat three meals a day. With breakfast, lunch, and dinner items in climate-controlled glass cases that could be quickly accessed, the Automat not only appealed to the urban masses but with its speed and consistency, marked the rise of the fast food industry in the United States. Horn and Hardart opened their second Automat in 1905 at 101 S. Juniper Street, third in 1907 at 909 Market Street, and a fourth in 1912 at 21 S. Eleventh Street. Initially, cooks and prep kitchens were housed on site in the rear or basement. To maintain quality as the company grew, food preparation was moved to a central commissary at 202 S. Tenth Street, where board members tested menu items daily.”
We went there on 11th & Market when ever we went down town…get a hand full of nickles and have a fun time and a good meal…I always liked the little brown glass containers with the baked beans….it’s a shame those places are no more…they were a wonderful part of my growing up….. do you also remember the pretzel carts on every corner…..soft pretzels with mustard.
One retail store you are missing was at the Manoa Shopping center in Havertown on West Chester Pike. They had the best Pumpkin pie. This reminds me of the fun part of going into Phila. This was always a great place to dine at the 16th and Chestnut automat. I remember when they moved from the automat to a regular restaurant or cafeteria style, we still enjoyed the experience. It was convenient and fast and hearty food.
Also remember the one at Bala Cynwyd and ate there often.
There was a Horn & Hardart on Cottman Ave. and Large St.; does it still exist?
Great memories! Gotta add the retail store that was in 30th Street Station in the ’70s, when I was a student and took the train a lot. Also there was a Horn & Hardart restaurant in King of Prussia alongside Rt. 202, right near where the Walmart is today. But I knew I was finally grown up when I went to meet a friend at the City Line H&H all by myself.
Wasn’t there a H&H at the Ben Franklin Institute
Missing from the list is the Horn a d Hardart’s at Large St. & Cottman Ave.
See the Philadelphia Inquirer today (1/3/2023) regarding the restoration of H&H’s Stained Glass Windows. Magnificent, what a work of art!
To my kids today: Not sure if y’all remember but Pop Pop (Philadelphia born 1926) used to say “Jeeze- it’s like Horn & Hardart’s around here” when we took his dinner plate away too quickly.
From his stories- The Automat table bussers would scoop up plates as soon as you picked up you last half of sandwich or what ever, so the plates could get back into the Automat system for refilling with more sandwiches etc.
🙂