At the peak of Horn & Hardart's automat empire, there were more than 40 locations throughout New York City. You won't find any today. What you will find are subtle reminders of the popular chain's presence from decades ago, like this fading ghost sign painted on the side of a building on West 38th Street in Manhattan.
Towering over a parking garage at the center of the block between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, the sign directs hungry passersby to a Horn & Hardart Automat Cafeteria, "on Broadway corner in this building." That building at 1385 Broadway, also known as the Bricken Broadway Building, is an Art Deco office tower built in 1926.
You can make out a flashy automat sign on the corner in the 1940s tax photos below.
Courtesy of the Municipal Archives, City of New York, 1940s Tax Department photographs via Street View of New York City
The automat was a restaurant designed for the worker on the go who wanted a quick and affordable, yet filling, meal. Five-cent coffee flowed from dolphin-head spouts, slices of pie were retrieved from coin-operated vending machines, and hot dishes were served at the steam counter. Despite their accessibility and affordability, Horn & Hardart restaurants didn't compromise on quality and atmosphere. Just look at the splendor of the Times Square location's dining room. (You can still see remnants of that location, too!)
Today, retail spaces on the lower levels of 1385 Broadway are filled with a Crunch gym, a pizza place, and a Cava. The last Horn & Hardart in New York City, located at 200 East 42nd Street at 3rd Avenue, closed in 1991.
While no more Horn & Hardart automats exist, New Yorkers still have a strong affection for the automat, and entrepreneur David Arena is trying to bring them back. Arena revived the brand as a coffee company in 2023 and has plans to reintroduce the automat to a new generation. Would you visit?
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