Downtown’s Bodega celebrates ten years of business

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Andrea and Nick Hoover began Bodega in 2016 with a vision of a small wine gallery and a last-minute place to shop for a few produce items in mind.

Ten years later, the couple and parents of two are celebrating their small business that has become a pillar of the Tipp City community.

“Bodega came to me because we received a phone call from the owner of that building and they said, ‘Hey, are you guys interested in expanding Coldwater in any way? The space is going to be available. And, you know, I will rent to you if you want it,’” said Andrea. “And so, he happened to catch Nick and I when we were away on a little trip, and instead of clearing our minds and vacationing, we spent time dreaming and envisioning and seeing what we could come up with.”

The Bodega began as a small outlet to purchase new wines, expand your palate, and try leftover menu items from Coldwater Café. But soon, leftovers became separate items made just for Bodega. Then, a year later, the sister location of a fine-dining experience became its own full-blown deli.

The deli was just a stepping stone to the top choice for lunch and dinner for anyone looking for what Andrea calls “good food that’s fast, but not fast food.”

“About a year into the business, a friend of mine said, just in conversation one day, ‘You know, I love the deli, and I love being able to go there and grab lunch, but I get overwhelmed when I walk in, and I see the options,’” shared Andrea, “She said, ‘I need you to tell me that there's a lunch special. I don't care if it actually is a special or if it's something that you just want to put together every day. I just need you to tell me that there's a special, and that's what I'm going to get.’”

Taking her friend's advice, Andrea and her husband, Nick, began the brown bag lunches, a now staple in the week for locals and visitors.

Andrea said, “The number of people who say they wait for the menu to come out on Mondays to plan their whole week. It just makes me smile.”

Though the brown bag lunches and dinners fuel customers throughout the week, there's one menu Item that nobody can seem to get enough of.

If you’ve been to Bodega, then there’s almost a definite chance that you’ve tried the famous chicken salad.

Andrea shared that when the Bodega began, they would make ten or 15 pounds of chicken salad a day.

“Now, I would have to verify this with the kitchen, but it's something insane, like 25 pounds a day or something. It might even be more. I am not sure, but we did not expect the growth that we've had there, not at all,” she said.

Andrea shared that the most growth she’s seen over the past ten years has been in how much they’ve been able to expand, from deli case items, wine, and a few foods to a solidified menu that causes what is sometimes a wrap-around line in the store.

One thing that really excited the community was Nick and Andrea’s introduction of ice cream.

Nick attended a one-week intensive ice cream course at Penn State. From there, he brought his passion and the sweet joy of an ice-cold treat to the Bodega’s ever-expanding deli case, creating an inviting atmosphere for all ages.

“We feel so fortunate that the community loves the store as much as we do,” said Andrea.

After ten years, Nick and Andrea are still finding new ways to jazz up the Bodega menu and storefront, making a decade just a small bump in the road of many years to come.