Bodegas. Wanna vibe like a local in a super diverse city? Check out these cool neighborhood shops run by awesome Hispanic folks.
Picture this: It’s 7 AM in Brooklyn, and Yovanna Melo is the superhero of breakfast orders at her bodega. New Yorkers are dialing in for their beiconeganchí (fancy bacon, egg, and cheese melts), pavo dulce (that’s honey turkey sandwiches), and pan con bistec (Cuban-style steak rolls) to conquer the day in “The City That Never Sleeps.” Move over, Spätis and Japanese convenience stores, because NYC proudly boasts its bodegas – around 7,000 of them, to be precise.
These little havens are like unicorns, except they’re real and scattered every two blocks. Owned mainly by the Hispanic community, they’re the Swiss Army knives of convenience stores. Open 24/7, some even come with bonus feline friends. Because who needs a grocery store when you can snag eggs, snacks, beer, and lottery tickets at your friendly neighborhood bodega?
Meet Melo, the maestro of El Vacilón, her bodega baby for the past two decades. But this isn’t just a store; it’s a community hub. Melo knows her customers by name, trusts them to pay later, and lets families drop off their kids like it’s a daycare. Need to send a package or leave your keys? Bodegas got you covered.
But the real magic happens when you dive into the history. Carlos Sanabria spills the tea in “The Bodega: A Cornerstone of Puerto Rican Barrios.” These gems likely started with Spanish and Cuban immigrants in the early 1900s and got a Puerto Rican makeover in the 1920s. Back then, they served up rare island goodies and became community lifelines. Fast forward to today, and Mexicans, Yemenis, East Asians, and probably martians own bodegas. If it’s under 300 sq m, sells milk, meat, or eggs, and isn’t a fancy bakery, it’s a bodega – at least according to the NYC Department of Health.
But let’s be real, what makes a bodega a bodega? Cats. If there’s no cat, it’s just a wannabe bodega. Because nothing says convenience like a cat lounging among the plantain chips and stews. So, next time you’re in NYC, skip the supermarket and embrace the bodega life. It’s like a mini adventure in every aisle.
