Comment by pizzafeelsright

Restaurants, for reasons (anti-)Communists can explain, is about the Master-Slave dynamic, or less polemically, the ability for a pauper to feel like a king.

There is an element of "I am rich enough to pay someone to cook for me. To serve me. To clean for me".

Vending machines exist and Automat's never really caught on in their previous form, replaced by fast food for those who want cost efficient food service without the service element.