Bodega (store)

A bodega is a small owner-operated convenience store serving hot and prepared food, often open late hours and typically with ethnic market influences.^[1][2][3] The NYC Department of Health defines a bodega as any store of sufficient size "that sells milk, meat or eggs but is not a specialty store (bakery, butcher, chocolate shop, etc) and doesn't have more than two cash registers".^[4] Most famously located on New York City's street corners and associated with immigrant communities such as the Puerto Rican community and the Dominican community, they are renowned for their convivial culture and colorful character.^[5] As of 2020, there were an estimated 13,000 bodegas across the city.^[6]