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hypatiatextprotocol t1_j9rztr9 wrote

Reply to comment by _Haverford_ in TIL the way NYC has bodegas, Australia has milk bars. Modeled initially on American soda fountains, they’ve been on the decline since the 70s due to competition from supermarkets by idiomaddict

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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