The death of bodegas? (New York, York: 2015, buying, eat)

[caribny]

Originally Posted by MC305

I think you don’t get that there isn’t a formal definition of bodega. I actually looked it up myself years ago out of curiosity and found there was no consensus. And in my own experiences, we didn’t refer to the places in Manhattan as bodegas. We called a lot of them Korean delis. Frankly no one is right or wrong. Language constantly evolves. You’re actually a little odd in how often you try to correct people on their own language usage and experiences when you’re pretty young and don’t even live in NYC.

Not sure that anyone calls a Korean deli a bodega. The argument is whether Arab delis should also be considered bodegas. They are fairly similar though there are also differences.

[MC305]

Originally Posted by caribny

Not sure that anyone calls a Korean deli a bodega. The argument is whether Arab delis should also be considered bodegas. They are fairly similar though there are also differences.

There was at least one person here who tried to argue that Manhattan places are bodegas. And 1995 called people who have different definitions than him oddly specific or something.

In the nearby suburbs where I grew up, we had one or two of these small convenience stores. I think they were owned by South Asians. We didn’t call them bodegas. For whatever reason, I associate the word with stores owned by Latino proprietors in Latino neighborhoods. I suspect that was how it was used in the media in the past.

[l1995]

Originally Posted by MC305

There was at least one person here who tried to argue that Manhattan places are bodegas. And 1995 called people who have different definitions than him oddly specific or something.

In the nearby suburbs where I grew up, we had one or two of these small convenience stores. I think they were owned by South Asians. We didn’t call them bodegas. For whatever reason, I associate the word with stores owned by Latino proprietors in Latino neighborhoods. I suspect that was how it was used in the media in the past.

All I'm saying is that the Arab run places you find all over black NYC neighborhoods definitely count as bodegas, they're pretty similar to the Latino owned ones. YThe Korean megadelis in Manhattan are different of course, but I'm sure somewhere in NYC there are places run by Chinese and Koreans with the traditional bodega layout.

And the origins of the term bodega do not necessarily mean that only Latino run places are bodegas, that's like saying a place is not a cafe unless it's run by French people for French customers.

[BBMW]

I've been calling them Korean bodega's for years, and no one ever claimed not to know what I was talking about.

Originally Posted by caribny

Not sure that anyone calls a Korean deli a bodega.

[vision33r]

RiteAid and 7-11 Corp owned stores are the new corner bodegas.

[Aeran]

Originally Posted by MC305

For whatever reason, I associate the word with stores owned by Latino proprietors in Latino neighborhoods. I suspect that was how it was used in the media in the past.

That was what I thought for the longest time but I guess that term has now "evolved".

[SeventhFloor]

Bodegas were always a Hispanic, then Arab thing. No Asian place is considered, or called a bodega. The Asian places all have more of a traditional deli layout.

If it doesnt look like this, then its not a bodega:

[SeventhFloor]

Or:

[NyWriterdude]

Using Seventh Floor's examples I definitely see that old school bodega all over lower Manhattan neighborhoods such as East Village/LES, Hells Kitchen, Chelsea, and of course upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs. Those businesses aren't going anywhere. In a few neighborhoods 24 hour drug stores compete with them, but not enough to make them disappear.

[RICANRICAN]

In harlem a few years the arabs went crazy building deli's one on every block on broadway i my old hood there one old school bodega been for years first own by puerto ricans for years now own by dominicans for years now there was another bodega just across the street but now it's a med clinic!