Bring Back Horn & Hardart
The beloved automat is being revived one cup of Joe at a time
If you lived in New York City, Philadelphia, or Baltimore at any time before 1991, you have fond memories of going to Horn & Hardart Automat.
Founded in the late 19th century by Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart, the Automat was a marvel truly before its time. The first actual automat, which opened in Philadelphia in 1902 and then in New York City in 1912, allowed people to choose their own food and drink rather than wait for servers.
The notion was simple: Put a coin into a slot next to the window where your desired sandwich or piece of pie was behind, and a little door would open up, gaining you access to your desired meal.
In its heyday, there were dozens of bustling Horn & Hardart locations throughout New York City. There, secretaries, retail clerks, students, bankers, and everyone else would converge for a quick and affordable lunch in a convivial setting.
Though the automat was created for everyone to be able to afford a meal or a beverage, don’t think for one moment that the setting was drab or institutional. The automats were smartly decorated, and your coffee was poured from an elaborate dolphin-shaped spout.
Sadly, the last automat closed in 1991, a victim of the rise of fast food restaurants, inflation, and even its coin-operated model in a world of plastic currency.
Now, there’s a renewed interest in the brand, with a campaign to bring Horn & Hardart back to its former glory. And it all starts with a cup of coffee.
David Arena, CEO of Horn & Hardart, relaunched the company a little over two years ago with the goal of bringing the brand back. He explains that the company was brought out of bankruptcy in the 90s by a few Philadelphia investors who tried to open up some coffee shops but didn’t have much success. “I met one of those entrepreneurs and fell in love with the brand in 2022 or so and approached him to take it over with the goal of bringing back not just the company but its values,” he says.
Arena shares that Horn & Hardart’s core values are quality and customer experience. “It was founded by two people who believed the bottom line wasn’t the most important thing. The company’s slogan was The public appreciates quality.”
Arena, who self-funded this restart of an iconic brand, says the century-old automat concept is a fantastic model for the present and the future, with a few modern twists like tap-to-pay. “The automat genuinely has a great business model. It has convenience. It has no lines. It has no tipping. And tap to pay is as easy as putting a nickel in.”
Arena says it’s also fantastic for families. “I have two little kids, and when we need to leave a restaurant, we need to leave. Here, there are no checks to wait for.”
There’s also the nostalgia aspect of reviving Horn & Hardart.
Arena says the company gets hundreds of stories about what Horn & Hardart means to them. “People associate Horn & Hardart with family memories. Rarely is there a company that doesn’t seem transactional. It’s really neat.” Arena recalls his favorite note: “I got an email from a man who said he went to Horn & Hardart every Saturday with his dad. He sent a picture of himself and his father sitting on a bench in front of one of the automats. It was so incredible.”
With those memories, Arena says reviving the company feels like it has to be done correctly. “The company meant so much to so many people. When we looked at bringing it back, we needed to figure out how to bring it back for another 100 years. How do we get it to last beyond me?”
For Arena, it starts with Horn & Hardart’s coffee.
For nearly a century, the automat’s coffee was loved by millions. In the 90s, the coffee blend was recreated using a blend of beans from Brazil, Colombia, and Costa Rica. “It’s the best diner coffee you’ve ever had. It’s a coffee you can drink every day,” he says. Horn & Hardart also offers a dark roast and a decaf made using a CO2 method instead of chemicals. The Horn & Hardart website sells the coffee, along with merch like mugs and totes that bear the original logo.
Marketing the coffee worked. “I’m happy to say that after two years, we’ve grown our coffee business so much that it is profitable for the first time in 30 years,” he says.
The ultimate goal, of course, is to reopen the automat. But first, there are steps to take. “Our next move, depending on fundraising and how much money it takes, is opening a smaller format automat, then moving to a larger one,” says the CEO.
Right now, the strategy is working. In addition to a growing coffee business, the company’s Instagram shares stories of the original automat, and a book about the Automat, written by Marianne Hardart in 2002, will be republished this fall by Penguin Random House.
Arena hopes this renewed interest in a nostalgic brand, combined with new technology, will revive the Horn & Hardart automat. “I like to think the founders are looking down on me and smiling,” he says.