(1976) The unofficial second home for Long Islanders at one point dotted the Island with over 70 locations! (before dwindling to a mere 5 and switching ownership) A suburban oasis for parents in need of bread and milk... or for those craving quick cigarettes, iced tea and a box of Ho-Hos 🙂 (though you could venture inside and shop if you wanted 😃🙅♀️). A daytime clerk at the Syosset Dairy Barn told the New York Times in 2005 "We see at least 10 people a day in pajamas." And now a little history:
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"The Dairy Barn story begins in Switzerland in the late 1930's. Edgar Cosman, a textile manufacturer, sent his 22 year-old son, Dieter, to work in the family's parachute cord factory in New Bedford, Massachusetts. When Edgar came to the States for a visit with a ticket to return on the cruise ship Normandy, World War II broke out and the Normandy was commandeered into service for the military.
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Edgar found himself stranded in New York and decided to buy a dairy farm on Long Island. The farm was losing money. Edgar Cosman left it up to his son Dieter to manage the failing East Northport milk farm and make it profitable. This was 1939, by the late 1940's Dieter had developed the Oak Tree Farm Dairy into a thriving wholesale milk business.
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But by the late 1950's, people were no longer interested in having their milk delivered to their homes, so once again Dieter Cosman needed to reinvent his business. That's when Dieter came up with the concept of a "drive- thru" convenience store. (Note: Perhaps following the booming trend of the fast food industry) The first Dairy Barn store opened in 1961, and was popular right from the start. It looked just like the ones you see today, from the barn-shaped store with the little red silo, to the two canopied driveways."
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📷: Plainedge Library