Once futuristic, then dead, the automat returns
AP Created: May 06, 2021 08:26 PM At the height of its popularity in the early 20th century, there were 40 buffet-style automats in New York. The waiterless eatspots were once considered the wave of the future, but by the 1970s they were overwhelmed by the explosive growth of fast food restaurants. But now, in the wake of the pandemic, two very different restaurants are bringing back automat-style eating to New York. With cell phone ordering, heated cubbies, and pastrami dumplings, the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop in New York's East Village is trying to make the automat futuris...