Milk bar

In Australia, a milk bar is a suburban local general store or café. Similar terms include tuck shops, delicatessens or "delis", and corner shops or corner stores (although by definition these are different establishments). Milk bars are traditionally a place where people pick up milk and newspapers, and fast-food items like fish and chips and hamburgers, and where people can purchase milkshakes or lollies.

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.

By the late 1940s, milk bars had evolved to not only sell groceries, but also be places where young people could buy ready-made food and non-alcoholic drinks, and could socialise. Milk bars often used to include jukeboxes and pinball machines (later upgraded to video games), 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 malls. Much of the elaborate decor has disappeared from the remaining milk bars. They are still found in many areas, often serving as convenience stores.

...
Wikipedia