NOVEMBER 2020

11/12 months done of questionably the weirdest year yet. COVID restrictions got tighter here in Vancouver, and the States barely dodged another bullet with their election. In better news, a friend of mine is now the general manager of a new Bodega down the block from my house, so you know I had to pull up with my camera and sweet tooth.

I've known Martin Sahami for a while now. He's the cousin of two close guy friends of mine from North Vancouver. When I heard through the grapevine that he, his cousin TJ, and his business partner Sam were opening up a Bodega right on East Hastings, I was intrigued and excited and had to get over there ASAP. 

When I moved back from Montreal, I knew I was going to miss the depanneurs. I wouldn't miss putting on my three layers and two pairs of socks to treck there in -30 degrees for my Haagen Dazs pint of ice cream. Here on the west coast of Canada, we are slacking on the East's Bodega culture. The usual go-to being the Mac's or Shell, a place for gas and bad tuna sandwiches and zero community.

Lucky's Exotic Bodega at 2641 E. Hastings welcomes you with a friendly yellow storefront. The good energy continues inside with Martin's, "kid in a candy store" like presence. You can feel how proud and happy he is to have you in his store, and it shows on his bright, welcoming smile. He apologizes to my sister and me for the lack of candy stock. It was all due to a TikTok of the store that went viral days before. These are good problems to have, winning the TikTok lottery off the bat. 

If sweets aren't your thing, it's a HypeBeasts dream. Supreme products sprinkled everywhere and sneakers for sale thanks to Duffle Bag Store from Kelowna. In fact, I just missed getting some shots of the Dior Air Jordans that Sahami had just gotten in. You can see a photo of Martin handling them carefully in his Supreme gloves on his Instagram if you do not believe me. If you are on Hastings, be sure to drop in and say hey, buy a scratch and win, and maybe even film their second viral TikTok.

Lucky's grand opening will be on December 11th.

See the rest of my month below.