Brother-and-sister duo James and Cat Laskie had coveted the old milk bar on Barton Street, Hawthorn for eight years before signing the lease in October 2017. Recently, they finally opened as a cafe under the corner store’s original name, Barton Milk Bar.
It’s the second milk-bar-cafe conversion for the siblings, who were behind Adeney Milk Bar in Kew. They also opened 30 Mill Espresso in Malvern and Gellibrand Cafe in Reservoir, but have sold all three cafes since.