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NYC’s bodegas now have a dedicated delivery app
A new app is looking to present bodegas as alternative to large grocery stores. My Bodega Online lets New Yorkers order groceries and sandwiches from their neighborhood bodegas for delivery, and it’s free to use. Unlike Grubhub, Uber Eats, and other third-party services, this new app will not take a commission from bodegas — at least not during the ongoing novel coronavirus crisis — and after that, the plan is to take 50 cents per transaction, which is tiny in comparison to the 15 to 30 percent commission that larger third party apps charge.
The app has been developed in collaboration with the Bodega and Small Business Association of New York, which represents about 16,000 bodegas across the city. For now, only some bodegas in the Bronx are on the platform and the goal is to get more than 1,000 NYC bodegas registered over the next six weeks. Bodegas also have the option of charging cash-only, unlike other third-party apps that require credit cards. The app was originally set to launch this summer, but the founders decided to push it forward in light of the ongoing novel coronavirus crisis to help bodegas, founder Jose Bello tells Eater.
In other news
— Amazon is looking to purchase four Fairway stores during the beleaguered grocery store’s ongoing bankruptcy auction proceedings. One of those stores is the Red Hook location, two are in New Jersey, and the fourth one is in Pelham, New York. No word yet on what Amazon plans to do with these stores.
— More than 1,200 workers, many of them food workers, were laid off from the three airports serving NYC amid the novel coronavirus crisis.
— East Village icon Gem Spa, which was initially delivering its egg creams, is now closed indefinitely. The online shop is still selling merchandise though.
— Trader Joe’s workers at the Forest Hills shop say they don’t feel safe working at the store during the ongoing crisis.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article stated that there were hundreds of bodegas already signed up on the new bodega delivery app. For now there are only some in the Bronx with hopes to sign on more in the coming weeks.
