Bickford's Restaurants and Cafeterias is a chain of cafeteria-style restaurants founded in 1921. From the 1920s through the 1970s, the chain was a mainstay in the New York City area. From the 1970s through the 2000s, the chain was primarily located in the New England area. As of April 2024, the company operates 1 location in Massachusetts.
Bickford's Restaurant Rt.1, Saugus, Massachusetts - 2001
Former Bickford's, 488 Eighth Avenue, New York
A streetcar passing a Foster's in San Francisco in 1970
Foster's Cafeteria at Mission and 1st, San Francisco (1968)
A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S. and Canada, is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether in a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or lunchroom. Cafeterias are different from coffeehouses, although the English term came from the Spanish term cafeterÃa, which carries the same meaning.
A corporate office's cafeteria in Bangalore, India, December 2003.
A student getting food from a school cafeteria
Childs Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA, c. 1908
Hospital cafeteria tray line server in Port Charlotte, Florida