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RobinsShaman t1_j9rphgd wrote

A small shop and/or cafe, often part of a larger shop, that sells fast food and a range of dairy based beverages such as milkshakes and ice creams; a deli or delicatessen.

In the 1930's, Mr Adams opened a shop in Martin Place in Sydney based on the American diner concept. "Instead of selling sodas he'd sell milkshakes and hence why he called the business a milk bar — they'd sell milkshakes and you're served on a bar," Mr Donnelly said

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locri t1_j9rsd9i wrote

> A small shop and/or cafe, often part of a larger shop, that sells fast food and a range of dairy based beverages such as milkshakes and ice creams; a deli or delicatessen.

This does not describe a small town Australian milk bar at all in anyway. Our milk bars sell bread and milk, as in, milk not mixed into a milk shake and bread without meat in between then sold at up to 30 times the price.

Again, my local milk bar sells kilo bags of beans for a few dollars.

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_Haverford_ t1_j9rxi22 wrote

Sooooooo, a deli or a bodega. Or even... Just a small store with a butcher counter.

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hypatiatextprotocol t1_j9rztr9 wrote

Hence the title: "TIL the way NYC has bodegas, Australia has milk bars."

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locri t1_j9sr0wi wrote

What "way"? The two are wildly different concepts that have at least become two wildly different things. You do not live in a food desert if you live next door to a milk bar because you can buy a loaf of bread for 3 dollars, but the same isn't true if you live next to a bodega that sells 30 dollar sandwiches.

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fanghornegghorn t1_j9tkjsz wrote

A bodega MAKES sandwiches but it doesn't exclusively sell them. It's a corner shop, that also has sandwiches.

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locri t1_j9w4hm7 wrote

OP is comparing a symptom of a deliberate food desert, the bodega, with something small Australian towns did to combat the food desert... Sell canned and dried food next to a single line of refrigerators that sell milk.

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idiomaddict OP t1_j9tcrix wrote

The ubiquity of them and their cultural importance to Australia is/was similar to how bodegas in New York are. It’s a paraphrase from the article.

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locri t1_j9w3zoj wrote

You know what else is culturally important in Australia? Telling it as it is; a bodega is a sign of food desert, a milk bar is a sign you don't live in a food desert.

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idiomaddict OP t1_j9wdy9p wrote

I’m not sure what the confusion is. A milk bar is different from a bodega. They’re not the same. However, there’s lots of bodegas in New York, and they’re recognizable as an aspect of home for New Yorkers. There are (or were) lots of milk bars in Australia, and they’re recognizable as an aspect of home for Australians. Again, it’s a shorter version of a quote from the article.

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idiomaddict OP t1_j9tcpo2 wrote

They’ve evolved quite a bit since their decline in the 70s began.

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locri t1_j9w4666 wrote

Okay, but is what I described in any way similar to a bodega? To me, bodega conjures images of people proud to live somewhere that inflames poverty.

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idiomaddict OP t1_j9wd6o6 wrote

The ubiquity of them and their cultural importance to Australia is/was similar to how bodegas in New York are. It’s a paraphrase from the article.

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_Haverford_ t1_j9rxevl wrote

A milkshake costs wildly more to produce than a soda, no?

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PublicSeverance t1_j9t2ngy wrote

Soda bars and milk bars competition was alcohol.

The modern day equivalent is a coffee shop. You buy an expensive drink and socialise with friends or meet there for a first date.

The intent of the business was to have a location for makes and females to socialise without a chaperone.

  • In 1965 women in Australia were finally allowed to drink alcohol at a public bar.

  • In 1970 the number of milk bars had halved.

The businesses still had great central locations in town, so they rebranded. They always sold fast moving consumer snacks like candy, chocolate and ice creams. The few that remained started serving take away meals, acting as a mini grocery store, ginger video rental, and more.

Now they are vape stores after 6pm and suffer the rest of the business during day light hours.

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Taleya t1_j9thcvk wrote

That is not a milk bar in the slightest.

Nowadays you get milk, bread, chips, icecreams, bit of a lolly bar if you're lucky, back in the day there'd be VHS rental and 20c arcade machines as well.

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