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While it’s been decades since the restaurant chain Horn & Hardart was open to hungry customers, it’s still remembered as a great place to eat—affordable meals accompanied by speedy food service at communal tables. In this must-see documentary, the phenomena's automated dining experience is recounted by a host of celebrities who add their often humorous and always insightful commentary to this documentary, including Mel Brooks (who sings a tribute to the restaurant), Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Elliot Gould. In The Automat, we watch a business climb to its peak success and then grapple with fast food in a forever-changed America.

Underwritten by the Contra Costa JCC; The Reutlinger Community; Susan & Howard Geifman; Beryl & Ivor Silver.