Alec Gropman
Bodega | Charleston, SC
NOVEMBER 2024
According to Alec Gropman, nothing could beat a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich from his favorite bodega in Fairfield, Connecticut: Country Cow Deli. In high school, he got a job at The Patterson Club, working through the stations in the country club’s kitchen and learning the fundamentals. As an adult, he moved to New York to enroll at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, but even living among a sea of bodegas and bagels, Gropman never forgot about Country Cow. Two years into culinary school, Gropman traveled down to Charleston and picked up a job at Peninsula Grill under Chef Graham Dailey, expanding his skills under the renowned chef. Back in New York, he continued his culinary education while commuting back and forth from Connecticut to work at The Patterson Club.
In 2018, after graduating, Gropman and his wife relocated to Charleston where he joined the Uptown Hospitality Group as the opening sous at Uptown Social. One year later, he became a partner, growing within the group and overseeing operations. Missing the bodegas back home, Gropman wanted to bring a more casual, daytime dining experience to the Charleston market. In 2020, he started his pop-up, Bodega, slinging to-go sandwiches during the pandemic. In July of that year, he officially opened his brick-and-mortar in Downtown Charleston. Three years later, he opened Bodega’s second location in Mount Pleasant with an extended brunch, lunch, and soon-to-be dinner menu featuring whimsical, nostalgic bites, like his peanut butter and jelly pancakes. Across the locations, Gropman invests in his team, from providing health care benefits to a more equitable pay model to promoting the internal growth of his staff. Now, he hopes to expand his concept and bring those craveable bodega sandwiches to the rest of the country.
2024 StarChefs Charleston-Savannah Rising Stars Award Winner
