We picked this up at a local antique store and thought it would look perfect in our bar. This piece was manufactured in 1955 by the Braun Manufacturing Company. The unit had seen a fair amount of use. It was rusty and I found a thousand year old cashew stuck at the bottom :). Being that this is a unit people are going to eat out of I had to sterilize the heck out of it. The cabinet required the usual prep (sanding, primer, etc.). Though I lost the “Hot” sticker that was on the original, I still think it looks great.
This unit uses heating elements in the base to warm the nuts (my heating elements are missing). These were usually on the counter of merchants like gas stations and deli’s, not necessarily bars. It’s funny that the unit indicates cost per hand full because there is no coin mechanism. I assume patrons paid the merchant directly before taking their “hand full” of warm salty nuts. I am sure this will see a lot of use in our bar.
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Hepcats Haven 