When LaRayia Gaston booked a flight to Atlanta during the height of COVID-19, she had never visited the city before. Now, five years later, her plant-based grab-and-go eatery at Ponce City Market has become one of Old Fourth Ward's most quietly beloved hidden gems.
"I just thought it was magical," Gaston told The Atlanta Voice of her first impressions. "It was literally a city full of fairies."
The Brooklyn-born entrepreneur's path to Atlanta was anything but linear. She launched a clothing brand in New York, built a showroom in Los Angeles, and worked in fashion while witnessing the devastation of Skid Row.
"When you start to see those things at a level of devastation, it kind of makes you question your art and what you do, and how much of it has impact," she said.
That questioning led to LaRayia's Bodega, tucked into a corner of Ponce City Market's Central Food Hall. The spot serves plant-based meals with soul, building a loyal following among locals who've discovered its charms.
"Something called me to this corner," Gaston said of finding her space at PCM.
