[eschaton]

I had a lot of friends who moved to Williamsburg/Park Slope around 2000 or so, and hence I used the term "bodega" non-ironically.

The thing is, a bodega is different from the typical gas station store/convenience store. It's essentially a tiny supermarket in a traditional urban storefront where you can engage in all of your shopping needs. And it's different from a CVS/Rite-Aid/Wallgreens in that there's no pharmacy.

In my experience in Pittsburgh, there's basically two kinds of these stores. One basically survives off of lottery tickets and cigarette sales, and serves a bit of junk food as well. The other are more full-on mini-groceries - sometimes with some sort of built-in deli counter or sandwich shop.