Harold and Dorothy Lester first set up business in the late 1920s in Devon Street East. In 1935 they moved their cafeteria to an old building at 67 Devon Street West.
In 1937 the building was demolished and major alterations carried out on the neighbouring Mayfair Theatre. This enabled the Lester's to reopen in much larger premises and the milk bar became a popular destination. An advertisement for the milk bar published at the re-opening of the Mayfair Theatre, Lester's proudly claimed that they offered, "A new way of serving coffee is provided by a thermostat controlled urn". (Taranaki Herald 28 July 1938)
After a long period of ill-health Harold Lester died on 27 February 1943. The milk bar eventually closed in the 1950s.
Related document:
Meet you at the milk bar (Taranaki Daily News 25 November 2000)
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