I have doubts on the quality and how automated a 1930s restaurant could have been.

They are talking about automating the serving process, not the cooking process.

Specifically, you can read about Automats, which were basically early vending machines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat

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lotsofpulp 3 days ago | parent [-]

I don’t understand how this could materially reduce costs compared to current restaurants where you order on the screen and pick up your tray at the counter when your name/number is called.

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pydry 3 days ago | parent [-]

They dont. Theyre equivalent to those on screen menus that have been around since ~2015.

The point is that the automation of the customer service part of restaurants existed before and disappeared for ~60 years.

	▲	lotsofpulp 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		That automation was nowhere near equivalent to today’s automation.