Milk bars were once an icon of Australian suburbia: modest corner shops that provided everything from newspapers and milk to mixed lollies and impromptu conversations with neighbours. Many were established by immigrant families more than half a century ago; however, in recent years, gentrification has seen them slowly replaced by sleek cafes, boutique wine bars, and chain retailers.
202 Bastings Street remains a rare and nostalgic example of the "mixed business" model: a traditional milk bar at the front, with a two (potentially three)-bedroom residence tucked away at the rear. This is a property layered with history and community significance, offering a unique opportunity to restore, reinvent or redevelop (STCA).
When the current owners' family first opened the shop 60 years ago, it sold everything: groceries, cleaning products, ice creams, and single lollies chosen one-by-one by local kids. Long before the advent of late-night shopping, supermarkets, or extended trading hours, the milk bar was essential-lines of customers would often stretch out the door. It operated as a milk bar for 40 years, serving the neighbourhood through changing times. The owner's mother ran the business until she was 70; she was well known and warmly regarded in the area.
At the shopfront, a wide tin awning stretches out over the footpath-a welcome feature on Melbourne's wet winter mornings. A bus stop directly out the front served as a regular gathering point for school children, commuters, and local characters. The large, wall-to-wall front windows provided a generous display of goods for sale: jars of lollies, loaves of bread, bottles of cordial, and the everyday essentials that kept the neighbourhood ticking.
Inside, the bones of the shop remain: high ceilings, linoleum floors, and a layout that invites reinvention-whether as a retail space, studio, gallery or home business. Behind the shop, the residence unfolds into a surprisingly spacious two or three-bedroom dwelling: modest but functional, with scope to upgrade or reimagine to suit contemporary living.
Adding to its appeal is a garage with access off Stafford Street-a practical inclusion that enhances flexibility, whether for private use, storage, or deliveries.
Properties like 202 Bastings Street rarely come to market. It offers a slice of suburban history; a canvas for creativity; and a chance to hold onto something that, in many parts of Melbourne, has already vanished.
See the virtual tour link here:
https://tinyurl.com/202-Bastings-St
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