The New Corner Market With a Familiar Face: bodega Market

In a stroke of good fortune, a business opportunity showed itself two years ago to Yohansi Santana and as a result she was able to bring Lakeland’s first bodega to the center of downtown directly next to her Divicious Deli & Cafe Shop.

“I already had an idea that if we ever had a place we wanted to open a convenience store downtown,” Santana says. “And, of course, it was perfect for us that it was right next door to the deli.” 

bodega Market has been open since February, and business has been booming, with the market already burrowing its roots deep in the community thanks to the convenience and selection of products it offers customers. 

“We have great foot traffic,” Santana says. “We’re also providing a need for the people that work downtown. So, for example, you have clients that come, and they shop for their office—things that they’re going to need like oatmeals and crackers and cheeses and things they have it in the office.”

Santana grew up in New York City, where endless Hispanic-owned bodegas are sprinkled throughout the boroughs. 

She was inspired by the memories of working at one of her father’s bodegas in New York on 106 Street and Broadway Ave. in Manhattan. Santana jokes that she’s always been short, so she would have to use a milk crate to peek her head over the countertop behind a plastic shield between the cashier and the customer. 

The New York bodega is rustic but eye-catching, with bright colors that distinguish it on a bustling street. They’re part of the neighborhood, where frequent visitors can stop by and grab something quick. 

Santana wanted to maintain that same neighborly presence of a bodega. Yet she wanted to change the design and make it distinct for Lakeland while maintaining her father’s memory. As you walk in, you are welcomed by various nostalgic Latin products like Goya, as well goods from local distributors. 

“You know, I could find a distributor that sells expensive things,” Santana says. “But then the products in here are going to be super expensive, and that’s not what I wanted. I wanted something that people can afford.”

In the corner, under hanging bright light bulbs, is the bodega Market wine cellar, which includes a wide selection of wines at “a happy medium” price range including choices from light and sweet Moscato to rich and limpid white wine. 

“The repeated customer already tells us a lot about how happy people are,” Santana says. “We have regulars already for bread, and we have regulars for pastries, and we have regulars for most things. So that’s just amazing feedback to see them coming over.”

Handling Divicious and bodega was challenging at first, but she eventually learned to manage very different businesses. Unlike the bodega, Santana knew everything about cafes and delis to where it was nearly effortless for her to prosper with Divicious; bodega required a larger learning curve. 

“So I had a little challenge here and there trying to get distributors, I think, because it’s not the same thing when you get a distributor for your meat and your coffee versus for retail products,” Santana says.