“EVERYTHING’S BETTER IN A DUMPLING!”
Dumplings Reimagined, One Bite at A Time
Brooklyn Dumpling Shop was born of the idea that classic diner staples and sandwiches are more fun as dumplings. More variety with more delicious flavors!
SEAMLESS DIGITAL ORDERING & PICKUP WITH A SPIRIT OF HOSPITALITY
Order online or at an in-store kiosk. Scan your barcode. Watch your locker open. Grab your food and enjoy. And don’t worry, our Brand Ambassador will be there to assist you, share their favorites and ensure you have a great experience in our shops!
Automat History
Originally, the machines in the U.S. took only nickels. In the original format, a cashier sat in a change booth[citation needed] in the center of the restaurant, behind a wide marble counter with five to eight rounded depressions. Customers would insert the required number of coins in a machine and then lift a window, hinged at the top, and remove the meal, usually wrapped in waxed paper. The machines were replenished from the kitchen behind. All or most New York automats had a cafeteria-style steam table where patrons could slide a tray along rails and choose foods, which were ladled from tureens.
The first automat in the U.S. was opened June 12, 1902, at 818 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia by Horn & Hardart, not far from our Philadelphia locations. Horn & Hardart became the most prominent American automat chain. Inspired by Max Sielaff’s AUTOMAT Restaurants in Berlin, they became among the first 47 restaurants, and the first non-Europeans, to receive patented vending machines from Sielaff’s Berlin factory. The automat was brought to New York City in 1912 and gradually became part of popular culture in northern industrial cities.
The automats were popular with a wide variety of patrons, including Walter Winchell, Irving Berlin and other celebrities of the era. The New York automats were popular with unemployed songwriters and actors. Playwright Neil Simon called automats “the Maxim’s of the disenfranchised” in a 1987 article.