The East-coast ex-pats among us may be more immediately familiar with the term “Bodega,” even though we definitely have bodegas here in Los Angeles. Unless you’re so deep into some Beverly Hills lifestyle that your idea of a sandwich shop is Le Pain Quotidien, then you’ve probably been to one.
Still not following? A bodega is a neighborhood hub, a chill spot to pick up some beer, snacks, batteries, toilet paper, etc. Anything really. And in a celebratory ode to all-things-Bodega, Brisk Iced Tea has teamed up with Vice’s music channel Noisey and Latin culture experts Remezcla to bring you a free concert series, Youtube channel, and online content hub: the Brisk Bodega.
Last Saturday over in Williamsburg, the Brisk Bodega tour took over a warehouse for a twelve hour music and art marathon. The free, open-to-the-public rager featured work by street artists Artek and Mr. Kiji and headlining sets by Just Blaze, DJ Slink, and Brenmar. Go ahead and mark your calendars: the tour is hitting LA in September after stops in Houston, Miami, and Chicago.
In the meantime, you can get down with the outpouring of hip-hop, art, and style over at BriskBodega.com. We’re also looking forward to new episodes of Bodega Chat, a web series where comedian Juan Bago interviews artists in their neighborhood bodega, giving a little insight into their day-to-day shopping habits (peep the teaser below). But Brisk is inviting regular people to Rep their Bodegas too! Their fun new series of commercials highlight actual shop owners at real bodegas around the country, so if you’ve got some West Coast corner store love, now’s your chance to share it. Tell the folks over at Brisk what gives your local Bodega it’s own unique flavor. You might win them a sponsored commercial, and you might pocket thousand dollars. Not bad.