Introduction to Vintage Cash Registers
Michael Roper started working at bars in the 1970s, and for the first 40 years of his career, across 15 taverns, he rang up each drink on one of the same lines of mechanical registers. So when Roper, 71, opened Hopleaf in Andersonville in 1992, he purchased two of these machines — one from a Salvation Army store and the other from a moving and storage company — for $120 apiece, he said.
Description of the Cash Registers
These gear-and-motor-powered “bangers,” as they were called, now sit quietly in Hopleaf’s storage room. Built by the National Cash Register Company in Dayton, Ohio, they feature a metallic body with a chrome finish. Black, beige and golden keys line the front, and a wooden drawer sits below.
But with the touch of a few buttons, the click-clack from within would promptly return, followed by the familiar cha-ching and the receipt total on the mechanical display at the top.
Michael Roper shows the open drawer of a practically “indestructible” vintage cash register at Hopleaf.
History of the Cash Registers
The 33-year-old Hopleaf, which has become a neighborhood staple, stuck to these registers for as long as it could, Roper said. For a time, Hopleaf used separate system for credit card purchases, but the two machines were eventually retired in 2012. Roper stopped tending bar around the same time.
A working vintage cash register that is stored in the back of Hopleaf.
The Significance of the Cash Registers
Hopleaf’s registers were built in the 1940s, at a time when they were the industry standard, Roper said. He said one first served at a grocery store in Ohio, and he believes the other one was also built for retail use, since it lacks the keys where multiple servers could each keep a separate total of their sales.
Marty Slim, 62, has worked at Hopleaf for almost its entire life, beginning his time on the mechanical registers.
“For the old bangers, we would have to know the price” for each of the dozens of beers, plus food and other beverages Hopleaf offers, Slim said. “But they are really something to behold.”
Conclusion
The mechanical registers are practically “indestructible.” He recalled an instance years ago, when a customer threw a chair over the bar at the register, but it did little damage to the machine.
Roper said the machines require regular upkeep, and the place where he used to send the registers for maintenance, A. J. Thomas on Randolph Street, closed in 2012.
Roper recently moved both machines to have them cleaned, with the plan to put one on display in his store and the other possibly given to an all-cash bar.
FAQs
Q: What type of cash registers does Hopleaf use?
A: Hopleaf uses vintage mechanical cash registers built by the National Cash Register Company in Dayton, Ohio.
Q: How long has Hopleaf been using these cash registers?
A: Hopleaf has been using these cash registers since it opened in 1992, but they were eventually retired in 2012.
Q: What is the significance of these cash registers?
A: These cash registers are significant because they are practically “indestructible” and have been a part of Hopleaf’s history for many years.
Q: What is the current status of the cash registers?
A: One register is now fully cleaned and operational, and the other one still needs to be cleaned. There’s just one problem — he couldn’t find the key for the drawer.
