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Bonita Bodega was born out of a daydream. Owner-operator Gina Marchini was pining for a small, neighborhood market full of everyday essentials and also some unexpected treasures.
“I loved the idea of a more modern general store,” Marchini says. “You can pick up things you actually need—olive oil, coffee beans, or a bar of soap—but also discover something new, like a cute outfit or thoughtful gift.”
Marchini also co-owns the Kerns vintage clothing shop Banshee. While she still enjoys sourcing vintage apparel, she found herself casually looking for a space to explore this other idea. Having recently moved to nearby Buckman, Marchini was spending a lot of time walking her dog around the Ladd’s Addition rose gardens. She found it special how people organically met up in the area for leisurely coffee catch-ups at Floyd’s, picnics in the roundabout, or strolling through the historic streets.
“I kept thinking how nice it would be to have a little neighborhood shop that becomes a part of people’s routines,” she says. “It felt like the right fit for the cozy, everyday corner store I wanted to create.”
Marchini describes Ladd’s as “a quaint village.” She leaves the shop’s door open to let fresh air in—sometimes the neighborhood tuxedo cat pops in too—and has placed potted plants on the store’s stoop. (According to Marchini, the cat is a stray and does not have a name.)
“I tried to do that with Banshee but, being along Burnside, people just threw garbage in the pots,” she laughs. “It’s nice, the contrast of the two.”
Her friends joke that the black and white stray is her “bodega cat”—a fixture beloved by New Yorkers. But she isn’t trying to emulate NYC’s bodega culture, not exactly anyway. She actually chose the name simply because it sounded fun.
“It’s not proper Spanish, but that’s also kind of how I speak Spanish,” Marchini says. “It also felt like the right moment to let more of my Peruvian heritage show up in my work. I haven’t really explored that side of my identity in business before, so this felt like a natural opportunity to do that.”
The shop itself feels plush, considered, and yet quite comfortable. Velvet chairs flank an ornate gold mirror, and gingham curtains line the big front windows, with vintage art peppered throughout. Marchini did the design completely on her own, only splurging on Room & Board shelving and a warm tan color from posh paint brand Farrow & Ball for the walls. But most of the décor she credits to “stopping obsessively at Rerun and cruising Facebook Marketplace every day.”
The most eye-catching thing in the store is undoubtedly the overhead silk lights, which were a true labor of love for Marchini. “When I got the space, there were eight hanging pendant lights—all quite industrial. I didn’t want to replace the fixtures, so I put together a pattern for ruffled pendant covers, sourced yards of silk and linen fabric from [The Mill End Store] and estate sales, and spent many hours sewing,” Marchini says. “They remind me of jellyfish or some sort of ethereal creature.”
Marchini gives that same level of care and personal attention to every item on Bonita Bodega’s shelves. “I look at the whole picture: the materials, the ingredients, the maker, the way it fits into the shop’s story, the needs I hear from customers,” Marchini says. “Every product is something I’d also want to wear, taste, try or gift.”
When sourcing, Marchini looks at value, quality and sustainability. “I don’t want to sell a $150 cardigan that’s actually just polyester,” she says. She also clocks her customers’ behaviors to better understand where they want to invest—literally. “I don’t know if people want to spend $80 on a super-nice olive oil, but they might spend $40. We also carry $2 potato chips and bags of little dried mangoes, so it’s a balance.”
In future, she hopes to have wine for sale so that the Bodega can be a one-stop shop for picnicgoers. Maybe she’ll have fresh bread and produce, too. In the meantime, she’s got a drinks cooler on order so that she can at least have cool cans of soda and sparkling water available in the warmer months.
Marchini also thinks her stock of spices sourced from small, family farms aren’t getting nearly enough attention. “A freshly milled spice is like a farmers market tomato; if you’ve never tasted one, you can be perfectly happy with the grocery version. But once you experience the real thing, it’s hard to go back.”
To that end, Marchini sees purchases made at Bonita Bodega as multifaceted. “It doesn’t just support my shop, it supports all the independent makers, small brands and family businesses behind the product,” she says. “Each item represents someone’s craft, care and livelihood.”
BUY IT: Bonita Bodega, 1988 SE Ladd Ave., bonitabodega.com. 11 am–6 pm Wednesday–Sunday.
