Editing Milk bar

{{Short description|Suburban local general store or café}}
{{For|the owner-operated convenience shops in New Zealand|Dairy (store)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2007}}
[[File:Milk Bar, Miller Street.jpg|thumb|right|A milk bar in the [[Melbourne]] suburb of [[Fitzroy North]]]]

In [[Australia]], a '''milk bar''' is a [[suburban]] local [[general store]] which can include [[delicatessen]]s or "delis" and [[corner shop|corner shops or corner stores]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Rodell |first=Besha |date=June 7, 2018 |title= I Came Back to Australia, and the Milk Bars Were Gone |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/dining/milk-bars-australia.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |quote= ...one part corner store, one part candy shop and sometimes a deli or news agent or neighborhood social club.|access-date=2023-01-10}}</ref>  Similar, but not identical, establishments include [[tuck shop]]s. Milk bars are traditionally a place where people buy newspapers, and fast-food items such as fish and chips, hamburgers, [[milkshake]]s, and snacks. They are essentially a smaller-scale suburban form of the [[convenience store]] but are more likely to be "mum and dad" small businesses rather than larger franchised operations. The term is also found in [[New Zealand]], alongside the more local term [[dairy (New Zealand)|dairy]].

==History==
[[File:Black and White Milk Bar Sydney SLNSW FL10329351.jpg|thumb|Black & White Milk Bar, Martin Place, Sydney, 1934]]
[[File:Central Station milk bar, 1946 (4009463159).jpg|thumb|[[Central railway station, Sydney]] milk bar, 1946]]

The first business using the name "milk bar" was started in India in 1930 by an Englishman, James Meadow Charles when he opened Lake View Milk Bar at [[Bangalore]]. The concept soon spread to the [[United Kingdom]], where it was encouraged by the [[Temperance Society]] as a morally acceptable alternative to the pub, and over 1,000 milk bars had opened nationally by the end of 1936. Milk bars were known in the United States at least as early as 1940 as evidenced by contemporary radio recordings.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

By the late 1940s, milk bars had evolved to not only sell [[groceries]], but were also places where young people could buy ready-made food and [[non-alcoholic drink]]s, and could socialise. Milk bars often had [[jukebox]]es and [[pinball machine]]s (later upgraded to [[video game]]s), with tables and chairs to encourage patrons to linger and spend more money.

The milk bar as a social venue was gradually replaced by [[fast food]] franchises, such as [[McDonald's]], and [[shopping mall]]s. Much of the elaborate decor has disappeared from the remaining milk bars. They are still found in many areas, often serving as [[convenience stores]].

==Modern era==
===Australia===
[[File:DarlingIslandJunction.jpg|thumb|right|Milk bar film-set from ''[[Strictly Ballroom]]'' at former Darling Island Junction rail yard, [[Pyrmont, New South Wales|Pyrmont]]]]
Milk bars in Australia today almost universally sell [[ice cream]]s, [[candy|lollies]], [[chocolate]] bars, [[soft drink]]s, [[newspaper]]s, [[bread]], [[cigarettes]] and occasionally [[fast food]]. Most generally serve milk (in cartons or bottles) or other dairy related products. Although there are far fewer milk bars than there were during the 1970s and 80s due to changing shopping habits, most people living in suburban areas still have a milk bar within walking distance or a short drive of their home. Today, many of them are owned by [[Immigration|immigrants]] of different generations. In conducting researches on the [[Linguistics|linguistic]] changes occurring in [[Sydney]], Horvath (1985) discussed the case of immigrant milk bar owners and how diverse their social status can be. Some of them run a small family business while others own several chains. This proved relevant for a new approach to concepts of status and class in [[Australia]] as opposed to the [[United States]].<ref>{{Cite book |date=January 2003 |chapter=Locating and Selecting Subjects |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470758359.ch2 |journal=Sociolinguistics |pages=23–48 |doi=10.1002/9780470758359.ch2|isbn=978-0-631-22224-8 }}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
In the United Kingdom, the National Milk Bar [[Franchising|franchise]] was founded in 1933 by [[Robert William Griffiths]] as an ordinary café/restaurant chain which is related to the original milk bars in name only.<ref>{{cite web | title=A tribute to National Milk Bars | url=http://www.theresposh.com/NMB/ | website= theresposh.com| publisher= | date= |access-date=2007-06-27}}</ref> Once numbering around 20 outlets, which were located in Wales and in England near the [[England-Wales border|Welsh border]], now only one remains.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-12038590 |title= One shop left as Aberystwyth National Milk Bar closes| website= bbc.co.uk| publisher= [[BBC News]]| date= 23 December 2010| access-date= }}</ref> In the UK, [[corner shop]]s serve a similar function to milk bars in modern Australia, providing everyday groceries, sweets, newspapers and such.

There is a campaign in the United Kingdom to encourage schoolchildren to consume more [[dairy product]]s, by installing 'milk bars' in schools.{{cn|date=April 2020}} The idea is that if the dairy products are attractively presented and properly stored, the children will be more willing to buy them. The organisers behind the project work to develop links with school caterers, so that the handling of milk and dairy produce can be improved, and they promote milk consumption and encourage milk drinking to become a habit that will be carried into adulthood. The milk bar project has been extremely successful in Scotland for 18 years, and it is currently being extended across England and [[Wales]].{{cn|date=April 2020}}

==Similar establishments==
A "dairy bar" is the term for a similar restaurant/store common in the [[Northeastern United States]], especially [[upstate New York]], which is a large producer of dairy products. A "malt shop" (named for the ingredient in a malted milkshake) is very similar to a milk or dairy bar, serving milkshakes and soft drinks as well as limited foods, such as hamburgers and sandwiches. Although there are still a few around, these have largely fallen out of fashion in favor of fast food.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-malt-shop.htm|title=What is a Malt Shop? (with picture)|website= wisegeek.com| date=| publisher= | access-date= }}</ref>

The term [[dairy (store)|dairy]] is also used for these establishments in some places, particularly in [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Kiwi Dairy {{!}} New Zealand|url=https://www.newzealand.com/us/article/the-kiwi-dairy/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108192416/https://www.newzealand.com/us/article/the-kiwi-dairy/|archive-date=January 8, 2014|access-date=2018-06-07| website= newzealand.com| language=en-us}}</ref>

The term [[bar mleczny]] ({{lit|milk bar}}) in Poland is used to describe popular and cheap cafeterias from the [[communist]] era that still exist today. They provide a wide range of government-subsidised meals. In 2011, however, the Polish government began to withdraw their subsidies, and this led to protests by people opposed to their closure.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/fast_track/9714943.stm |publisher= BBC News| website= bbc.co.uk |title=Eating cheap - Polish style | date=2012-04-25}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ice cream parlor]]
* [[Milkman]]
* [[Newsagent's shop]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Australian cuisine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milk Bar}}
[[Category:Culture of Australia]]
[[Category:Food retailing]]
[[Category:Restaurants by type]]
[[Category:Retailing in Australia]]
[[Category:Restaurants in Australia]]
[[Category:Australian cuisine]]