The Google tech bros behind Bodega have an idea that’s actually decades old

In one form or another, automated shopping has been around for ages. German vending machines were already dispensing chocolate bars to impatient little children in the 1880s. A few years later the first automat—or automatic restaurant—opened in Berlin, and soon the innovation had swept through Europe and across the Atlantic, where the first American version was operating in Philadelphia by 1902.

The earliest and most prolific of the automat chains was Horn & Hardart, which at the peak of its popularity maintained 40 locations in New York City alone. Many automats of the early 20th century took the form of a restaurant without servers, lined with nickel-operated machines dispensing everything from coffee and cake to chicken potpie. The convenience and price were a boon to hurried office workers and unemployed actors alike, and while the automat fad in the U.S. was all but over by the 1970s, its descendants, in the form of fast food restaurants and stand-up vending machines, endure. In countries like Japan and Holland, large electronic boxes can be found conveniently placed in busy public spaces, offering easy access to daily necessities for a good price. It’s a great system for people on the go, as well as those who find themselves too busy for human interaction—but it’s definitely not new.