Quisisana was a German company that introduced the world's first automat restaurant in June 1895 on the grounds of the Berlin Zoological Garden, Germany.[1] The establishment was considered a success, selling 5,400 sandwiches, 9,000 glasses of wine and cordials, and 22,000 cups of coffee on the first Sunday of business.[2] Quisisana also manufactured automat machines and equipment,[3] including a milk vending machine which was adapted for use in German schools.[4]
The name Quisisana comes from the Italian phrase qui si sana [ˈkwi ssi ˈsaːna] which roughly translates to "here one is healed" or "here you become healthy".[5] Automat is a loanword from German for automaton which was adopted from Latin automatus, originally borrowed from the Greek autómatos (αὐτόματος), meaning "acting of itself".[6]
Smith Oliver 2015
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Grimes 2009 p. 189
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).