What's a Bodega?

I'm a born and bred Puerto Rican/Punjabi Brooklynite living in the San Francisco Bay Area and boy do I miss rolling out of bed, looking a complete mess, to go out and walk to my Bodega to get a cup of coffee and a BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll. If I'm feeling sassy, I'd get ketchup).

"Bodega" is Spanish word for "storeroom," "wine cellar," and is a kind of glass tumbler you drink your wine from in Spain. These shops started popping up around the 1950s by mostly newly arrived Puerto Ricans and other Caribbean immigrants, like my grandfather. Nowadays these shops are owned by fewer Hispanics but the name “Bodega” still remains.

This dapper gentleman is my Grandfather, R

My grandfather owned one in Clinton Hill on Classon Street in Brooklyn in the 1960s. My mom told me her and her brother would ride their bicycles from 188 Parkside Drive, up Ocean Ave, to get to the store. My grandfather eventually opened up another store on the same street, a clothing store for kids which was popular but not as popular or successful as the bodega.

I grew up with these shops on every corner of every neighborhood I lived in. They had all the household and dietary staples I and the rest of New York needed, available 24/7. Chips, candy, toilet paper, laundry detergent, cat food, dog food, 25 cent juices, and lottery tickets, loosies (a single cigarette) . Some saved my life by having over-the-counter Benadryl (after eating one of the many things I'm allergic too) and others held spare keys for me. One of the first things my mom told me to do when I got keys to my first apartment was to leave my keys at the Bodega next door. It took me a few months but I did. If I didn’t live super close to a Bodega the alternative was the Pizza Shop. New Yorkers have special and trusting relationships with their Bodegas and Pizzerias.

Bodegas were always there for me when I needed them, it was a safe place where I felt welcome, taken care of, and not judged (for my late night contraceptive runs). They fed me, they provided me cleaning supplies for when I had my first apartment, I trusted them with my keys, and they've saved my life with Benadryl too many times!

Since many bodegas were in poorer neighborhoods they accepted EBT and WIC. Which was important back then because not many places accepted these programs, most times it was the only place a parents could afford to get baby formula.

Bodegas’ are so loved and respected that when a startup company labeled luxury product vending machines for lobbies in luxury buildings as “Bodega” they became “America’s most hated startup”

I'd like to think of Cheema's Travel as your safe space for my travelers and my Travel Bodega pays homage to them.

I have been asked over and over again, what all my favorite travel things are. Everything from suitcases to socks, yes, I have a favorite pair of socks.
::whispers:: compression socks. 

I've been keeping a spreadsheet of my favorite items so I can share with those who asked but I realized, with all that is happening in the world, with travel at an all time low, and all the organizations and people who need our help and support, I needed to build a shop, or in this case, a Travel Bodega.

This bodega was curated by me, Rani Cheema, founder of Cheema’s Travel because…

I wanted a travel shop with integrity.
The items you see in this shop are products that I actually use, eat, wear and/or believe in. I didn't just want to slap together a shop of what I think you might like, I wanted to curate one with integrity, showcasing my favorite products, many of them by womxn, black owned business, P.O.C. entrepreneurs, and queer folk.

If you have someone you believe is in alignment with the Travel Bodega and they need to be showcased email me at cheema@tzell.com.

I want to support more people.
Whether you mean to be political or not, know that when we shop, we are saying something. We are voting with our money and this is powerful. I want you to know that 15% of our monthly commissions from your purchases below, will go to a different organization. Since this shop is brand new and it needs time to grow, proceeds from Juneteenth till August 31, 2020 will go towards Black Lives Matter.

Social responsibility. Our mission must continue.
When it comes to the philanthropic work Cheema's Travel is working on, such as building schools for the deaf in remote parts of the world, helping rebuild Puerto Rico, and creating travel scholarships for high school students, we want to make sure we reach these goals because 2 of the 3 mentioned are the reason why we started Cheema's Travel.

PLEASE NOTE: This shop is still in the works and will always be in the works. I will continue introduce you to my favorite travel items, food makers, femxle business owners, black entrepreneurs, queer trail blazers, and everyone else in between who deserves to be seen.

With great appreciation, 
Rani Cheema