The scandal surrounding Alex Rodriguez has taken a toll on his supporters, including a Brooklyn bodega owner who claims his store's name is now striking out with customers.
A-Rod Grocery, located in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill neighborhood, was once celebrated by its local clientele. But the Yankees player it's named after fell from grace amid an investigation into steroid use. Shop owner Ricardo Rodriguez told Spanish-language newspaper El Diario that he's having second thoughts about using the name A-Rod.
“We are thinking of changing the name, because the outcry from neighbors is intolerable,” said Rodriguez, who is not related to the player, in a quote translated by The Huffington Post. “It’s been 12 years that the bodega has been called A-Rod, in those times the batter was the pride of all Dominican fans, no one imagined the downfall of ‘The Ace.’”
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Image credit: Dave Cook.
Rodriguez also told the paper that he's not sure what he would rename the A-Rod Grocery.
Grub Street notes that "Sammy Sosa" is already taken by the Sammy Sosa Deli Grocery in Belmont, despite Sosa's own tainted record.
Perhaps they could field submissions from their customers?