The milkman returns to Manhattan

All that’s old is new again… Last week, we wrote about a bank that brought back the shoebox as a no-tech organizing system for their time-starved clients. Now, one of our spotters alerted us to the return of the milkman. Delivering organic milk to customers’ doors in glass milk bottles, the Manhattan Milk Company is reviving old-fashioned dairy delivery. For a USD 5 delivery charge, Manhattanites can get a weekly delivery of fresh milk. The company’s driver loads up his truck on Wednesdays at 4 am and delivers to all of Manhattan, picking up empty bottles when he drops off the full ones. The milk is sourced from 51 Amish farms in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, about 160 miles southwest of New York City, and is also sold at the Batch store on 150B W. 10th Street. While we hope MMC switches to electric or pedal-powered delivery vehicles for its many stops and starts in the city, the concept has an undeniable still made here charm that will appeal to consumers’ sense of nostalgia. And what about combining dairy delivery with the community supported agriculture ventures that deliver organic fruit and veg from farms to households across the world? Convenience, charm, organic and local–combine that with business smarts, and it’s hard to go wrong. (Related: High-end dessert trucks.) Spotted by: Esther Chang