Why bacon, egg and cheese prices have doubled and more convos in Bronx bodegas

Few places capture the essence of New York City like a bodega.

Every New Yorker has their favorite corner store, where they can grab a sandwich in a hurry, pick up a roll of toilet paper or catch up on gossip. Bodegas, alongside barbershops and laundromats, are trusted hubs where people can connect with their communities. But many of these lifelines and the communities they serve were strained by the pandemic.

So, WNYC/Gothamist set out to pilot a community survey focused on these essential businesses, starting with bodegas. Our early mission centers on learning about three topics relevant to most New Yorkers this year and how they translate into their daily lives:

1. The price of a bacon, egg and cheese
2. Crime and its influence on mental health
3. Marijuana legalization

The mission is complex and ambitious, as convenience stores are as diverse as the 700 languages spoken in the city. So, the project began by looking at neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID since the pandemic revealed how these communities are often overlooked.

The first phase settled on surveying stores in the largely Black and Latino working-class neighborhoods of the west and South Bronx through a partnership with the Bodega and Small Business Group. This initial effort is conducted in partnership with NYC-based research institute Knology and aims to run through this spring.

The project launched in late February at seven stores, and we spoke with six owners, or bodegueros, and approximately 70 customers in both English and Spanish.

WNYC host Michael Hill spokes with health-and-science editor Nsikan Akpan and economics-and-equity editor Josefa Velasquez about the project's launch. Click "listen" in the player to hear their conversation, and visit Gothamist for more details.