How My Face Ended Up on My Local Bodega’s Merch
Bodegas are precious resources in New York City. They’re a respite for the famished and the piss-drunk, but they’re also a kind of third place that’s unique to the five boroughs. Here you can catch the local gossip, yuk it up with the chef as he machetes together a chopped cheese, and in some cases, go viral. The best bodegas are the ones where they know your name. The most special bodegas, though, are the ones that sell merch with your face on it.
My local bodega is Garden Market in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. On the surface, it’s like any other corner store: There are guys slinging lunch orders, refrigerators lined with beer, a Great Wall of LaCroix cases, and aisles stuffed with household essentials. Run by Mohammad Askar, a former school teacher with a permanent smile and a bushy beard, and Saddam Ahmad, a humble ex-Marine, Garden Market has been around for about 70 years. Ever since Askar and Ahmad took over in 2021, however, the shop has been reinvigorated as a vibrant neighborhood treasure. They host regular beer tastings, raffle away Mets tickets on occasion, and—after years of regulars begging the former owners to do so—finally installed a grill to serve hot food. When they first moved into the space, one of the most visible personal touches the new owners added was a set of Power Rangers action figures on a shelf in the corner. Now, that shelf is populated with dozens more action figures given to Askar and Ahmad by grateful customers.
“I see them more than my own family,” says Dan Krupin, an artist and Garden Market regular. Askar even attended the opening of Krupin’s art show. “They are my family, now.”
But aside from the lovable Askar and Ahmad, what Garden Market really has going for it over other bodegas is excellent branding. Not the kind of branding that a gaggle of creative directors construct in a boardroom, mind you; Garden Market’s corporate identity is more organic, full of character, and—crucially—tailor-made for sick merch. Step inside the store and you’ll see goofy caricatures of the bodega’s proprietors everywhere: They’re on decals that line the deli counter, smiling from inside a custom wall clock, and even overlooking the store and its patrons in bobble-head form. And, of course, they’re on T-shirts available for purchase.
From a DIY punk show to your favorite dumpling spot, merch is everywhere these days. In some cases, great merch can serve as a vital marketing tool for your movie or take on a life of its own as a global viral sensation. But for neighborhood joints, the thinking is simpler: The barrier for entry is low, so why not? Maybe you’ll make a few bucks by hanging some tees and totes up by the register; maybe you’ll get a little free advertising if your customers wear your stuff out in public.
Garden Market decided it needed in on the merch game, too. So in 2022, Ahmad reached out to an artist on Fiverr to make it happen. With a few reference photos, “zero direction,” and only one edit, the bodega’s first T-shirt was born. It featured cartoon versions of the owners in front of a cascade of deli bites, along with a fresh new logo and a wholesome slogan: “All Sandwiches Are Made With Love.” Ahmad posted the design to the store’s Instagram account on a Friday. By Monday, all 70 T-shirts they’d printed were gone. “They sold like hot cakes,” Ahmad says. “Everybody that bought it was a local, a neighbor that wanted to show their love.”
Askar and Ahmad followed up that unexpected success with another batch of nearly 200 shirts, which again sold out in just a couple of weeks. Since then, the pair have dropped several new tees and hoodies—my favorite features the two owners pushing a baby stroller with a chopped cheese in the carriage. In late 2023, the duo decided to return the love to their community with a monthly raffle. The prize? A permanent residence in the Garden Market–verse with your very own, one-of-one custom T-shirt, plus a spot on their menu with a sandwich designed by you. It was one of those like-tag-share Instagram contests and, not thinking much of it, I double-tapped the post as a supportive gesture for my boys down the street.
Lo and behold, a couple of months ago, I woke up to a DM telling me I’d won the raffle. (And before you go thinking it was rigged, they used a random name picker and had no idea I work at GQ.) I was stoked and immediately headed to the bodega for more info, where Askar and Ahmad informed me I could either give them specific directions for the illustration or simply let the artist’s imagination run wild. To be honest, I dragged my feet here, and they eventually soldiered on without my input (sorry, y’all). That turned out to be for the best, because what I received a few weeks later was sublime.
There I was, a cartoon cowboy in a ten-gallon hat riding a rocking horse. (The illustration is based on this photo, taken by my friend Austin Withers.) They plopped me in the middle of the desert, surrounded by cacti and birds of prey circling high above, and gave me the Handsome Squidward treatment with an Eastwoodian five-o’clock shadow and an angular jaw. I was gobsmacked and couldn’t stop laughing. More than anything, though, I was honored. (As for my namesake sandwich, I went for a fairly simple riff on a classic breakfast combo: “The Gerald” is a sausage, egg, and cheddar cheese with banana peppers on a roll.)
Other winners have expressed similar feelings of gratitude. Krupin, the artist, was the first winner of the raffle and received the news while on his honeymoon in France. “I didn’t even know I’d entered the contest,” he says. “But my wife and I consider it one of our favorite wedding presents.” Killer mom-and-pop merch is hard to find. But who else is doing merch with their own customers on it?
Ahmad has plans to decorate their ceiling and window with the illustrations of past winners until the store eventually becomes a living collage of the community. “It’s a neighborhood thing, man,” he says. “It’s surprising—and this is more for Askar, because people love him—how much you play a major part in somebody's life and you don't even know it.”
Whether you buy into Garden Market’s merch as a true supporter or as a stylish subscriber to the Zizmorcore aesthetic is up to you. Askar and Ahmad have become part of the daily routine for hundreds of Greenpointers like me. There are plenty of other bodegas in the neighborhood, of course, but Garden Market is the one I call My Bodega—and not just because my face is on a T-shirt.
Originally Appeared on GQ
More Great Style Stories From GQ
55 Dos and Don’ts for Getting Dressed for a Wedding
Rolex’s Biggest Release of 2024 Is…
The Biggest Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Suits, According to Expert Tailors
Daniel Day-Lewis Loves a Little Carhartt in the Springtime
Not a subscriber? Join GQ to receive full access to GQ.com.
Every Single MoonSwatch, Ranked
