"Bodega". There's another frou-frou word that seems to have shown up out of nowhere. It's a grocery store, or market. The big ones, the Safeways and Superstores, are supermarkets. Super-markets.
It's as irritating as "barista". You're a coffee waiter. First time I heard that word, I assumed it was something foreign for "female bartender".
It's been used by city-dwellers for quite a long time.
"And she said, "Honey take me dancing"
But they ended up by sleeping in a doorway
By the bodegas and the lights on
Upper Broadway
Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes"
Paul Simon, "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," 1986
And yeah it pretty much means shitty, dirty corner-mart. I mean, any port in a storm, and many stock fresh foods and are cared for as well as a little family can, but they don't come anywhere near the cleanliness, safety, and stability of an actual grocery store.
I have a hard time bagging on bodegas, because they're pretty much all that's left of the Mom&Pop. Supermarkets are a marvel--so much cleaner and better laid-out than when I was a kid. But I don't buy shit like General Mills, Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, RJ Nabisco, Nestle, etc. and I don't like that buying food has become so centralized and homogenized.
Wal-Mart has the best bakery within 50 miles of where I live, and it is very good. The bakery is run by a lady who just happened to bounce all over the Country her whole life, spending her time baking, and her goods are fresh and great. But I find it sad that running a small business has become so onerous and punishing that she doesn't really have any options other than baking out of a Wal-Mart.
"Bodega". There's another frou-frou word that seems to have shown up out of nowhere. It's a grocery store, or market. The big ones, the Safeways and Superstores, are supermarkets. Super-markets.
It's as irritating as "barista". You're a coffee waiter. First time I heard that word, I assumed it was something foreign for "female bartender".
It's been used by city-dwellers for quite a long time.
"And she said, "Honey take me dancing"
But they ended up by sleeping in a doorway
By the bodegas and the lights on
Upper Broadway
Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes"
And yeah it pretty much means shitty, dirty corner-mart. I mean, any port in a storm, and many stock fresh foods and are cared for as well as a little family can, but they don't come anywhere near the cleanliness, safety, and stability of an actual grocery store.
Ehh, they're not exactly a Circle-K, or a 7-11.
I have a hard time bagging on bodegas, because they're pretty much all that's left of the Mom&Pop. Supermarkets are a marvel--so much cleaner and better laid-out than when I was a kid. But I don't buy shit like General Mills, Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, RJ Nabisco, Nestle, etc. and I don't like that buying food has become so centralized and homogenized.
Wal-Mart has the best bakery within 50 miles of where I live, and it is very good. The bakery is run by a lady who just happened to bounce all over the Country her whole life, spending her time baking, and her goods are fresh and great. But I find it sad that running a small business has become so onerous and punishing that she doesn't really have any options other than baking out of a Wal-Mart.