Bodegas

In New York City vernacular, a bodega is a small owner-operated convenience store serving hot and prepared food, often open late hours and typically with ethnic market influences. The New York City Department of Health defines a bodega as any store of sufficient size "that sells milk, meat, or eggs but is not a specialty store and doesn't have more than two cash registers". Most famously located on New York City's street corners and associated with immigrant communities as well as the Puerto Rican community, they are romanticized for their convivial culture and colorful character. As of 2020, there were an estimated 13,000 bodegas across New York City.