Walking into LaRayia’s Bodega feels like you’re visiting a record shop, art museum and a convenience store at the same time. It’s just that colorful.
Located in Ponce City Market, the bodega has the comfort of a living room. Neo-soul staples like Erykah Badu’s “On & On” and Bilal’s “Soul Sista” play in the background as customers explore the store’s vibrant setting. To the right, there’s an artificial flower wall with the words “Love without reason” etched on its side. In the front, there’s a wide variety of items to be sold like apparel, Florida water, astrology-inspired jewelry and artwork of late artists like Tupac, Selena and Aaliyah. A New York license plate is on the counter.
And in the back is where the food, smoothies, tea, coffee and matcha is sold. Most of the items on the menu are named after musicians (for example, there’s a Bad Bunny-inspired plantain latte titled Plátano Barrio and a Tyler Berry smoothie that’s made with açai, bananas, strawberries and more). Food items range from $3 to $20.
“Everything I’ve offered in the store, I’ve given away, so it’s not just about money,” said LaRayia Gaston, the bodega owner. “It’s bigger than that.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
The bodega is just the first step in Gaston’s mission to bring her food justice activism to Atlanta and create a wellness community. Gaston, who’s Afro Latina, says her work is guided by the legacy of the Black Panthers’ free breakfast program and her Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage.
“Puerto Ricans, to Cubans to Nuyoricans — the bodega is very to specific to our culture,” said Gaston, 35. “It means a community space run by our people ... what makes it so community(-based) is you know the owner. It’s a family feel. There’s a consistency there. It’s a survival piece for our community.”
Gaston’s work to build that community began nearly a decade ago in Los Angeles, where she initially launched the bodega through her foundation Love Without Reason. With the nonprofit, the Brooklyn native started a free food program that distributed 10,000 meals to the homeless per month. She moved her bodega to Atlanta in 2021 and officially moved to the city last year.
But coming to Atlanta wasn’t planned at all. The author, artist and producer is spirit-driven and a proponent of holistic healing (items at LaRayia’s Bodega are priced as angel numbers like $5.55 and $18.18), so that’s why when she kept seeing Atlanta on billboards and hearing about the city among customers and peers, she knew she needed to move.
“There was something special pulling me there. I didn’t spend time in Atlanta. It wasn’t on my radar at all. For me, it was always L.A. and New York. Anything in between — I never thought about it, but I trusted what I felt. I hopped on a one-way flight and came here to figure it out.”
Creating a garden
She hopes to continue her meal program in Atlanta soon and start a community garden. Her goal is to secure a building in the East Point neighborhood to launch both initiatives to provide fresh food to the community, especially in majority-Black areas. A recent Emory University study found that 36% of stores in Atlanta’s majority-Black neighborhoods carried fresh produce compared to 61% in non-majority-Black neighborhoods.
The project, titled the Garden, will be the future home of LaRayia’s Bodega and Love Without Reason. The 6,000 square-foot space will also include an art gallery, a lounge, a yoga and meditation studio and more. She hopes to open the Garden next summer, but isn’t set on a final date. So far, she’s raised $80,000 toward a $1.5 million goal.
“I wanted to bring the knowledge, the insight on healthy food, on veganism that wasn’t just about being vegan, but intuitive eating and being in tune with your body and what your body needs ... (and) to be able to be so spirit-centered, there was something that I felt I could contribute.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Venus Nari is an employee at LaRayia’s Bodega. She’s has worked with Gaston for six years. Nari knew she needed to help Gaston in her fight to reduce food insecurity after hearing about the efforts of Love Without Reason.
“To me, it doesn’t feel like work,” Nari said. “Once it feels like your passion, you feel like you’re doing your purpose.”
She said helping others along their wellness journey and bringing fresh food to the community fulfills her soul.
Felicia Bray, a janitor at Ponce City Market, said frequenting LaRayia’s Bodega has helped discover her own journey to having a healthier lifestyle. She said she started drinking some of the bodega’s teas two months ago and lost 30 pounds. Bray often does Zumba and yoga with Gaston and refers to her as “my workout buddy.”
The mother of five said she really likes how the bodega makes her feel at home.
“I want to get healthy for my kids because I want to be able to run around and play with them. I don’t want to be super tired every single day, so their products give me a boost of energy. I’m really into this new journey that I’m on (with) eating healthy and being clean.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Stories like Bray’s remind Gaston of why she continues her efforts.
“There’s nothing more important to me than mind, body, spirit, wellness,” Gaston said. “There’s nothing more important to me than being able to be in the world and navigating it from a healed place, so that’s why I do that work.”
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