Eight chefs have set up shop inside New York City bodegas, delis and corner stores to serve free meals to anyone who walks in. The stunt comes from CookUnity, the meal-delivery service that launched in 2016, and it is pitched as a way to get New Yorkers to try something different.
The promotion ran on Thursday across five locations. Chefs cooked signature dishes in person, handed out sealed meals for guests to take home, and offered small samples to taste. There was also a bodega-style lottery ticket scratch-off, with winners taking home free CookUnity meals for a year plus special dining experiences at the chefs’ restaurants.
Chefs at the Bodegas
The lineup includes names familiar to food fans. John DeLucie grilled a rack of lamb. Andrew Rea, better known as Babish, served spicy chili-garlic noodles and Guinness shepherd’s pie.
CookUnity works with top chefs including Esther Choi, Jose Garces and Marcus Samuelsson, and the company says its distribution network lets chefs connect with customers far beyond their restaurant neighborhoods. The service pairs home cooks with professional chefs who create menus and recipes, then delivers the ingredients so the cook at home can prepare the meal themselves.
Why Bodegas Matter
Michael Baruch, CookUnity’s head of brand, framed the move as a way to bring high-quality chef food to people who might not otherwise get it. He acknowledged the competition in the meal-delivery space but argued that CookUnity stands apart by partnering directly with chefs rather than making food itself.
He noted that bodegas, delis and corner stores are part of the cultural fabric of New York, and that putting chefs in these well-visited locations provides access to individuals and communication with the chefs at a level people wouldn’t ordinarily have access to. Baruch’s framing — that bodegas provide access to individuals and communication with the chefs at a level people wouldn’t ordinarily have access to — is the kind of language a marketing team uses to justify a stunt.
The Numbers Behind Meal Delivery
The global food subscription market was valued at $6.19 billion in 2025, according to Fortune Business Insights. That figure is projected to grow to $14.4 billion by 2032, up from $6.74 billion in 2026. North American consumers drive the biggest demand for such services.
Baruch said the goal is to give bodega owners a day off while creating energy in those stores that gets consumers sampling new foods and forging different connections with chefs. He described the promotion as a way to create excitement around the bodegas themselves, drawing people in to see what the chefs are cooking and taste the samples.
What Guests Actually Get
The promotion offers several ways to engage. Here is what a visitor to one of the five locations could expect:
- Free samples of signature dishes cooked by the on-site chef.
- Sealed meals to take home and eat later.
- Small “little bites” samples at the bodegas.
- A scratch-off lottery ticket for a chance to win free CookUnity meals for a year.
- Additional prizes including special dining experiences at participating chefs’ restaurants.
The scratch-off element is a clever hook. It turns a visit into a potential long-term customer relationship rather than a one-time walk-in. Winners of the scratch-off receive free CookUnity meals for a year, along with special dining experiences at the chefs’ restaurants.
The Promotion in Practice
The promotion rests on a few core elements. Chefs cook signature dishes in person, hand out sealed meals for guests to take home, offer small samples for tasting, and run a scratch-off lottery for free meals and prizes.
The promotion is a bet that exposure at the neighborhood level carries more weight than a banner ad online. Baruch’s framing — that bodegas provide access to individuals and communication with the chefs at a level people wouldn’t ordinarily have access to — is the kind of language a marketing team uses to justify a stunt.
The promotion is a bold move. The meal-delivery market is crowded, and CookUnity just put eight chefs in bodegas to fight through it.
Whether the stunt works depends on whether New Yorkers actually stop in. The scratch-off ticket is the hook, but the actual draw is the chance to meet a chef face to face in a store down the street.
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