Bates Area Civic Association

Thanks again to Scott Roberts for this: Check out Timor Bodega’s Produce Boxes.

A New Offering at Timor Bodega
DC North
February 2010

The little turquoise shop on Rhode Island Avenue is some Bloomingdale residents’ pride and joy. Located right in their neighborhood, Timor Bodega is a store that folks can drop in for quality ingredients, say a quick “hi” to the familiar faces there, and maybe pet a dog on the head before heading out again. Some say it’s just what the neighborhood needed.
The owner, Kim Wee, has been in the spot for two years. A native of Singapore and a former foreign affairs wonk, he worked at the World Bank for several years before starting his businesses. There’s the bodega, which features a broad selection of wine, beer and natural sodas, as well as dairy products from Trickling Springs Creamery (located in Chambersburg, Penn.), locally grown produce and a variety of organic dry goods. Oh, and bagels from Gaithersburg’s Whatsa bagel. He also runs a doggie day care service, boarding pets for a 12-hour day for $25; sometimes the pups make guest appearances at the shop.

Wee, who’s quiet but friendly and might reward you with a shy smile if you’re persistent, just started a new service last month: produce boxes. It seems like a great deal. For $60 a month (add $6 for delivery, available only within the neighborhood), subscribers get a weekly box of winter produce. That might mean turnips, beets, collards, kale – the usual winter vegetables, but the bonus here is that they’re all locally grown on a farm in nearby Stafford, Va. (near Fredericksburg). Wee meets the farmer at the US Department of Agriculture farmers’ market, one of the only ones in the city that continues year-round, and purchases whatever she’s selling that week. Incredibly, she also has greenhouse-grown tomatoes, cucumbers and cilantro. “I don’t know of any other place where you can get greenhouse tomatoes this time of year,” said Wee. “They pick it kind of green, but it still tastes better [than supermarket tomatoes]; they don’t have that summertime smell, but texturally they’re perfectly fine.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Timor Bodega is located at 200 Rhode Island Ave. NW. For more information on the produce boxes, e-mail kim.wee.dc@gmail.com or call 202- 588- 5612.