THE AUTOMAT is our completed documentary film about the phenomena of Horn & Hardart, America’s original & most beloved restaurant chain in NYC & Philadelphia.

Synopsis: Featuring an original new song written and performed by Mel Brooks, THE AUTOMAT tells the 100-year story of the iconic restaurant chain Horn & Hardart, the inspiration for Starbucks, where generations of Americans ate and drank coffee together at communal tables. From the perspective of former customers entertainer Mel Brooks, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Horns, the Hardarts, and key employees - we watch a business climb to its peak success and then grapple with fast food in a forever changed America.

Featuring: Mel Brooks, Elliott Gould, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Colin Powell, Carl Reiner, Wilson Goode and Howard Schultz.

Director & Producer, Lisa Hurwitz

Written & Edited by Michael Levine

Edited & Produced by Russell Greene

Assistant Editor, André Mascarenhas

Second Assistant Editor, Austin Freese

Composer, Hummie Mann

Original Song by Mel Brooks

Co-Producers, Alec Shuldiner & Russell Greene

Archival Research, Lisa Hurwitz & Alec Shuldinwer

Directors of Photography, Philip Lucas, Sandra Chandler, Stephen Cocklin, Jonathan Deaver, Paul Mailman

Associate Producers, Becki Chandler, David Russell & David Cornfield