Inside Philly’s Latine bodegas: Legacy, sacrifice, and a fight to survive

For more than two decades, Raúl Serrata has run his bodega on the same corner of East Walnut Lane in Philadelphia. At Serrata Grocery Inc., he spent “the best years of his youth”, watching his children grow up and become professionals. The store gave him the financial means to bring his wife and children from the Dominican Republic to the city. Yet for Serrata, the bodega is more than a livelihood — it’s his home.

His connection with customers is an indispensable part of the job. You’ll often find him in the bodega, ringing people up at the register, helping them reach items on the shelves, or offering advice and support during both difficult and joyful moments. When the store closes at 8 p.m., Serrata immediately begins preparing for the next day: restocking the freezers, cleaning up the day’s mess, and making sure everything is ready for a fresh start in the morning. After nearly 20 years of this routine, Serrata typically arrives home around 9 p.m.

“I spend more time at the bodega than at home,” Serrata said. It’s no coincidence he’s there more often than in his own house; he sees it as part of the challenge and a key element of the bodega’s charm.

Serrata has diabetes, and there are days when he doesn’t feel well. Still, when customers ask how he’s doing, he avoids saying he feels bad, knowing that could “ruin the day” for them.

“Papi, what’s wrong? Why are you like this today?” they ask immediately, using the familiar nickname many Philadelphians use for their neighborhood bodega owners. Not wanting to spoil their mood, Serrata tells them everything is fine so they can go about their day in peace.

“You have to get through the day with the best attitude; even if you don’t feel well or have a slight headache or a sore foot, you have to show your customers that you’re fine,” Serrata added.

Serrata deeply values the Latine—especially Dominican—cultural legacy of Philadelphia’s bodegas, but he predicts that many may disappear if there is no one to run them. Many bodega owners are aging, he said, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to keep their businesses open. He does not expect his own children to continue the tradition: although they help him on weekends, they are focused on finishing college and building their own careers. For Serrata, the solution lies in equipping younger Latine generations with the tools and resources they need to carry on the bodega legacy.

“Young people see how Mom and Dad live in the bodegas and don’t want that life for themselves,” said Serrata. “We have to try to help them study and prepare for the future, but they also need to understand that they must carry on the business legacy.”

‘My children resented the bodega’

In mid-2006, Clara Olivares began her journey as a bodega owner in South Philadelphia. Today, she owns EC Food Market in West Philadelphia. Looking back on her early days in the city, she feels a deep mix of pride and nostalgia for the hard work and long hours she has invested in being a bodeguera for nearly 20 years.

When her two children were young, Olivares ran the grocery store with her husband. Looking back, she admits, “We lacked that quality time we should have devoted more to them.” Even though the family always lived just steps from the store—either upstairs or across the street—her children still resent the time their mother dedicated to the business while they were growing up.

“I think one of the reasons they don’t want to continue in this [working in bodegas] is because of that,” she said. “They told me we devoted too much time to the bodega. That day when they both opened up to me was hard,” she added, her eyes welling up.

Despite the challenges of running a bodega, her two children remain closely connected to the business in different ways. Her son works at the family bodega three days a week, while her daughter offers nutrition education services to bodegas throughout the city as part of The Food Trust organization.

Bodegas are a family business

For Rafael Uceta, owning a bodega is part of his family’s legacy. He is one of six siblings with bodegas around Philadelphia and the most recent to enter the business. Although he spent most of his life working as a barber, his siblings encouraged him to open his own bodega, Las Palmas Market, in Kensington in mid-2022.

Although he has only been a bodega owner for a short time, he already feels the strain of long workdays and financial instability. According to Uceta, his biggest challenge is the city’s strict tobacco-licensing regulations, which are intended to reduce youth smoking in Philadelphia. For Uceta, tobacco is one of the top-selling products for the city’s bodega owners. If conditions remain the same for another year, Uceta admitted he would sell his bodega and return to being a barber.

“In this city, tobacco is what people consume the most,” Uceta said. “It’s the top seller in bodegas. They buy more tobacco than food.”

According to the president of the Dominican Grocers Association, Enereolina Meléndez, these types of city restrictions on small businesses have had a direct impact on bodegas. At the same time, the arrival of 24-hour convenience stores is attracting more customers, causing bodegas to be less frequented.

Although there is no official count of bodegas in Philadelphia, Meléndez estimates that there are about 2,500 in the city, approximately 80% of which are owned by Dominicans.

New generations are emulating their parents’ economic system

Many Latine small business owners have launched their businesses using a savings-and-loan method passed down from parents, relatives, and friends in their home countries. In the Caribbean—especially in the Dominican Republic—it is known as a “san” or “tanda.” In Latin America and parts of Africa, it is often called “susu,” and in the United States, it is more widely recognized as a traditional rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA).

According to Ana Mariela Ramos, the daughter of a bodega owner and a business administration professional, susu is an ancestral economic system in which a group of people commits to depositing a set amount of money each week to build a collective fund that is distributed to one member at a time.

Ramos learned this mutual support system from her family and still practices it with her closest circle as she works on building her future business.

“That’s how my family was able to get their business back on track,” said Ramos. “It’s a system I like to talk about because, when banks don’t see our value, we see our own value, we support each other, and we grow.”

Although Ramos does not wish to continue the family bodega business, she remains committed to honoring and building on the economic foundation passed down through generations, as well as educating others so they can carry that legacy forward.

The Papi Store PHL isn’t just a bodega. It’s also a cultural and creative hub where hip hop enthusiasts find the perfect setting to record their music, put on performances, and host podcasts alongside members of the Torresdale community in Philadelphia.

For nearly six years, Victor Andrés has served as the store’s owner and financial mastermind. In the early days, one of his most cherished customers was Profit (stage name), who has since become the creative force behind the project. Today, Victor oversees the bodega’s daily operations while Profit plans the schedule and brings in artists to coordinate recordings and events.

Victor and Profit’s dynamic is grounded in mutual support. Victor offers Profit creative freedom to use his recording equipment in the bodega, and in return, Profit ensures that every guest who records or performs also shops and eats there. During events, the bodega transforms into an ideal studio space that can accommodate around 120 people.

“Doing this, for me, shows that you don’t need much to be creative. You can just walk to your corner store and start creating,” said Profit.

While many bodega owners believe that younger Latine generations are not particularly interested in carrying on bodegas’ cultural and economic legacy, The Papi Store PHL is rewriting the rules of the game. Together, they have built an economic system centered on creativity, using the bodega as a safe space for the community.

The foundation of the bodega legacy remains strong, but its economic structures are increasingly driven by creativity and a renewed desire to build community in fresh, innovative ways.

This story was originally published by Metro Philadelphia and 2PuntosPlatform. They are among the 30 news organizations powering the Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative. Follow us at @PHLJournoCollab. This article is part of a national initiative exploring how geography, policy, and local conditions influence access to opportunity. Find more stories at economicopportunitylab.com.