Paul McDonald and Ashwath Rajan are former Google employees with a not-so-revolutionary idea: a pantry box service they’re calling “Bodega.” The pantry boxes would be located in dorms, apartment complexes, offices and gyms. Customers unlock the box with their phone and then are automatically charged for whatever they want to munch. But some see the ex-Googlers’s choice of a name for their service as a direct attack on the mom-and-pop neighborhood stores that have existed for decades. Many users took to Twitter to denounce the startup, suggesting that it could cost owners and workers at bodegas, many of whom are immigrants, their businesses and jobs. By Wednesday afternoon, Bodega had put out an official apology to anyone offended by its name, writing, “We commit to reviewing the feedback and understanding the reactions from today.” Over the last day, “Bodega” has a 38 percent positive score on Twitter. –Alex Shultz
Republished from 30dB
