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There ain't no Bodegas on 7th Avenue — Brooklynian

There ain't no Bodegas on 7th Avenue

anonymous
anonymous
edited November -1 in Park Slope

Subject: There ain't no Bodegas on 7th Avenue

Sorry folks, I was born in Brooklyn and have spent 99% of my life in the Slope and I gotta tell ya, there ain't no Bodegas left on 7th Avenue. What you got is a few Korean Grocery stores (most, strangely, owned by related families) and that's about the size of it.

"Bouza," which was a Bodega, on the northwest corner of Garfield and 7th changed its name to "S and H" in the 1980s and was/is owned by "Steve" and "Howie" two Koreans who physically moved to 5th Avenue in the 1990s but I gather still retain an interest in the store on 7th.

The last Bodega disappeared from Park Slope right around when Windsor Terrace suddenly became the South Slope and the other side of Flatbush became the North Slope (Hello? There are no slopes from Prospect Park in those two areas...no slope, no park, real estate double talk).

Now speaking of the bums in front of these so-called Bodegas, they most certainly do get "kick back" from the owners. Their job is to make sure that you rich folks don't steal any fruit or flowers. In return for this "service" they are allowed to pan-handle in front of the store. If they were to shut down this option no doubt the toothless bum would cause a scene so it is easier and less intrusive to the customer to "retain" their services.

It's the old shake down game in a new 21st Century guise.

Comments

  • 8thandprez
    8thandprez
    Ummmm.... ok.....

    On a semi-related note, is there anything that distinguishes a bodega from a grocery (Korean or otherwise)? I have always thought of the groceries like Apple Tree Market as bodegas... I mean, I know bodega is a Spanish word for small market selling sundries and foodstuffs, but I never thought that it had to be owned or operated by Latinos to qualify as such...
  • dailyheights
    dailyheights
    I think most New Yorkers refer to any independently owned corner store as a bodega. It never occurred to me to make that distinction.

    Something interesting! The Spanish word "bodega" comes from the Latin apothēca (like apothecary).
  • eggcream
    eggcream
    The OP is correct. 7th ave has no bodegas, mostly Korean markets. I've lived here for ages and have never referred to them as bodegas.
  • 8thandprez
    8thandprez
    Well, bodega is easier to say than Korean market, so I'm sticking wtih bodega. Plus, I've only lived in Brooklyn for 5 years and therefore am free to butcher the local language.
  • livetotravel
    livetotravel
    what do you call the place next to Starbucks then?
  • raw
    raw
    bo·de·ga
    n.: A small grocery store, sometimes combined with a wineshop, in certain Hispanic communities.
    n: A warehouse for the storage of wine.
    [Spanish, from Latin apothca, storehouse. See apothecary.]
    Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

    bodega
    n : a small Hispanic shop selling wine and groceries
    Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

    bodega, CA
    Zip code(s): 94922 :wink:
    Source: U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
  • raw
    raw
    8thandPrez wrote: Well, bodega is easier to say than Korean market, so I'm sticking wtih bodega. Plus, I've only lived in Brooklyn for 5 years and therefore am free to butcher the local language.
  • quijibo
    quijibo
    raw wrote:
    bodega
    n : a small Hispanic shop selling wine and groceries
    Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
    bodegas don't carry wine.

    the only time they carry a semblage of wine is near holiday time
    when they carry that fermented apple juice. some call it sidra
    and outside of a cooking sherry, bodegas don't stock wine
  • raw
    raw

    Subject: Can't we let the vernacular jive rule?

    Did anyone not immediately think of a small grocery store with flowers and fruit in front when reading the word “bodega” in messages, like “The goddamn homeless guys on 7th and Garfield” in which author mykidissmarterthanyourmom eloquently wrote “Why the hell don't the owners of the bodega/flower joint kick them off the damn sidewalk.” According to the dictionary, only “Hispanic” neighborhoods feature bodegas. However, since we all instantly visualize our “Korean markets” on 7th Avenue when reading the word "bodega," can't we let the vernacular jive rule? Since all of Park Slope’s “Korean markets” are not actually Korean, should we identify the “ethnicity” of each individual small market throughout all five boroughs?
  • quijibo
    quijibo
    it's helpful

    it's helpful because it gives you a sense of the contents of the store
    do i want tofu ice cream? korean store
    do i want flan? bodega
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    Exactly!
    quijibo wrote: it's helpful

    it's helpful because it gives you a sense of the contents of the store
    do i want tofu ice cream? korean store
    do i want flan? bodega
  • eggcream
    eggcream
    me above.
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