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Read the press release here.

Uptown Bodega Owners Can Get Help From Free City Workshop

 The city is hosting an all-day Spanish course for bodega owners in Washington Heights and Inwood on Thursday, June 1.
The city is hosting an all-day Spanish course for bodega owners in Washington Heights and Inwood on Thursday, June 1.
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DNAinfo/Steven Meyer

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The city is hosting its first free training program to help Spanish-speaking bodega owners run a successful business. 

The day-long program, which will be offered to bodega owners in Washington Heights and Inwood, is designed to help owners "maximize their competitiveness as they face competitive pressures in the neighborhood," according to a spokesman for the NYC department of small business services. 

Bodega owners were in the news spotlight earlier this year after Yemeni store owners shuttered their stores for a day and took to the streets to protest President Donald Trump's refugee policies

For bodega owners like Wilfredo Reyes, who has been running E & G Grocery on 51 Thayer for over two decades, some of the constant pressures are mostly due to rising rents, increasing business costs of utilities and products, and the day-to-day relationships with people.  

Reyes says that when it comes to local bodega owners, many already try to be as innovative as possible with the latest registers and accounting programs that highlight their bestselling products.

"Don't think that because we're a small business that we're not always trying to find ways to innovate our business," Reyes said. "But it's that, although the Dominicans are pioneers in this business, many have given up because of the long hours, increasing rents and utilities." 

The one-day program aims to help the bodega owners succeed by providing tips on how to organize store merchandise for better visibility, ways to upgrade equipment and technology.

"Corner stores are an essential piece of the fabric of our neighborhoods, and this new program is designed to help them succeed,” Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services, said in a statement to DNAinfo New York. “This free training will help corner store owners develop new skills and learn tricks of the trade to attract new customers and boost their bottom line.”

The first workshop will be held on Thursday, June 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the NYC Business Solutions Washington Heights Center on 560 W. 181st Street on the 2nd floor. It's open to any Spanish-speaking bodega owner, but owners have to RSVP ahead of time at (646) 412-0696 or e-mail the course partner City Harvest at cperfit@cityharvest.org.

A spokesman for the program said the city is looking into expand the all-day course to include other languages in the near future.