Within five years, about 4000 milk bars like Adams’ opened across Australia, many operated by other Greek-Australian migrants. Others opened around the world.

American soldiers visiting Sydney took the taste for shakes back to the United States which resulted in similar milk bars.

“Mick Adams’ global influence and success is truly unique and worth celebrating,” Moore said.

Historian Janiszewski and partner and photographer Alexakis have been working for decades to have Adams’ achievement recognised and correct misconceptions that the modern milk bar was an American idea.

Nearly seven years ago, an idea to mark the spot of Adams’ cafe was enthusiastically adopted but finding a suitable site proved difficult as the store is glass-fronted.

Next door, international real estate business Pembroke at 20 Martin Place, was eventually chosen.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Janiszeski said at the launch.

“Adams’ innovation was an example of the transnationalism of a diasporic people who fused ideas from different continents and brought it together into an iconic popular establishment.”

Adams combined the American drugstore soda parlour and the galactopoleion, a traditional Greek shop specialising in milk products.

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Looking for ideas to increase turnover at a time when many Australians had little to spend, Adams had gone to the United States where he visited drugstores. They sold a range of goods as well as sodas, and often used electric mixers.

In a journal article last December, Janiszewski and Alexakis wrote they had discovered Adams had been recognised by the industry in the 1930s but later, the credit for the first modern café was attributed to the wrong person.

Others thought it was an American innovation because many milk bars used the term American in their names.