The Most Charming "Salespeople" in New York Stores (8 photos + 1 video)

They live there illegally, but are rightfully considered the favorites of the city's residents.





More than 10,000 people have signed a petition in defense of the owners of small New York stores. They face fines for keeping cats - local celebrities and favorites of all city residents.



The cats that live inside bodegas (small shops, translated from Spanish as "wine cellar" or "pantry") seem innocent at first glance: they spend their days relaxing in the sun-drenched display cases or wandering among the shelves filled with various goods, gathering customers around them. However, state law officially prohibits most animals from being in stores selling food.

The New York City authorities are required to inspect the stores. Representatives of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets say their goal is to ensure compliance with laws and safety regulations. Inspectors from the agency have so far limited themselves to warnings to store owners who have cats. They have not yet issued fines.





However, the city residents are ready to protect their favorite "salesmen" or "senior managers", as cats are often called by New Yorkers: visitors claim that the pets help maintain cleanliness, scaring away other ubiquitous New York creatures, such as rodents and cockroaches, from stores.



But bodega owners say the animals' main job is to attract customers. For example, a gray-and-white cat named Mimi from a store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, has become more famous than others: one of the customers, Sydney Miller, made a video about her and posted it on TikTok, which has received more than 9 million views. Miller says that thanks to Mimi, she became friends with the store's owner, Asam Mohammad, a Yemeni immigrant who has only been living in the United States for a few years. "Cats are a symbol of community building and a special, unique type of connection that happens in a city like New York," she says.



Miller isn't the only one to post videos of cats from bodegas on TikTok — there are hundreds, if not thousands, of such videos on the social network. For example, in the video below, the author shows his favorite cats — the inhabitants of the stores.



Mohammad also said that one of Mimi's children, a white kitten named Lily, is now also very popular with customers. "He will play with anyone. "It used to be Mimi, but now they're all famous," the shop owner says.



Another Greenpoint shop owner, Salim Yafai, said his cat, Reilly, is so popular that one longtime customer even tried to buy him, asking Yafai how much. "I said, '$10,000.' He offered $1,000. I said, 'No,'" Yafai recalled.



For many New Yorkers, cats are the main reason to visit a small store near their home. For more than half a century, these animals have been part of the city's culture.