by Kenneth Rosa | staff writer

In my own experience a bodega is a small convenience store with essentials such as food, drinks, and other items and these can be found in many places in New York City and other cities. To my own surprise, Jefferson Bodega, a small convenience store, gained my attention. Being raised In New York City, a bodega was a very common thing to see in the city because wherever you would go in the city there would always be a bodega nearby. To my surprise the many qualities you would find in a bodega in New York I found here in Jefferson Bodega. 

When I first walked into the bodega, I was reminded of the bodegas I used to see. The store itself provided a wide variety of beverages and snacks. They offered items like ice cream, chips, candy, sodas, along with many other items. However there is a catch. This

bodega provides its customers with specialty items you don’t normally see. They had different flavors to your typical candies like Skittles, 3 Musketeers, KitKat, and so much more. For example, they had flavors like cotton candy flavored Skittles, Birthday Cake flavored 3 Musketeers candy bar, and apple pie flavored KitKats which I had no knowledge that such flavors were even sold. 

The bodega also had a wide variety of international items which you wouldn’t find in your typical convenience store. When I saw their selection of chips I was shocked to find that many of the chips they sold were chips sold overseas. For example they Lays from Thailand which was Mieng Kam Krob Ros flavored, as well as Karamucho chips from Japan which were flavored with Hot Chili and Seaweed. These are only examples of only a few choices from the wide variety of chips and other food items they had, most of which are rare to find.

Adults shopping at the bodega  would find a wide variety of international beverages, such as the British band Ironmaiden’s own signature beer. Jefferson bodega is not only a place for adults but for teenagers as well. Being that it was only a few minutes away from Thomas Jefferson High School the bodega is the perfect location for students looking for a place to find snacks and drinks. Though the bodega may be small, it contains culture and items you wouldn’t normally find at your local convenience store. Personally I had a hard time just selecting something from the store solely because they had so much to offer and it sparked my interest in trying all the things they had to offer. When I left the store I was so excited to come back to purchase all the other things they had to offer.