Alec Shuldiner, who wrote his doctoral dissertation at Cornell University on Automat technology, said the Horn & Hardart Automats served food consisting of "stewed or baked meat that could be overcooked without doing it any harm."

The new version features "quick-cooked food, mostly deep-fried, that has a very short holding period," he noted.

Fried foods will be kept warm in their coin boxes but must be thrown out if they don't sell within 25 minutes.

Shuldiner works as a consultant in Amsterdam, where the Automat model the Bamn! team strives to emulate _ the Dutch word is "automatiek" _ is popular.

"They're very common in the Netherlands but more or less nonexistent anywhere else in the world," he said.

One area where the Bamn! partners hope to stand out is in the quality of the food. Their consulting chef is Kevin Reilly, the executive chef at the Water Club on the East River, who created the menu.

Reilly met the Bamn! team when he spotted its ad on Craigslist looking for a croquette recipe.

"We sat down and hashed out their ideas," he said. "The thing that put me on to working with them was that they were willing to use restaurant-quality ingredients and restaurant preparations."

The sauces that Bamn! will serve with fries will be made from ingredients like fresh ginger, truffle oil and Maytag blue cheese, Reilly said. "These things cost a lot more than if you would buy Kraft."

The store will be open 24 hours and will aim to attract New York University students, bar-goers, tourists and local residents.

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