Food and Society

Category: Retail

  • Tous Les Jours Elmhurst

    Address: 85-15 Queens Blvd, Elmhurst, NY 11373
    Link: Tous Les Jours Google Maps

    Just 10 years ago, this establishment used to be a large corner of nothing. No buildings, no projects, and no people. Back then, no one would even look this way when walking by this street. There was nothing significant or intriguing to look at. If you look at this same location back in 2020, this building was built and available to rent for retail. Now, this caught the attention of people. It once was an empty piece of land, but now, a modern property has been built to fill that unaesthetic void. Around the year 2023, signs were posted on the windows of this building: “Tous Les Jours, coming soon!”. My mom was excited, my friends were excited, my church was excited, and I was excited. Finally, a new cafe/bakery in the neighborhood was going to open. Once this establishment finally opened, the cafe was so popular and busy. Another thing to indicate before relating to the sociological idea of “we are how we eat,” is that Elmhurst is populated with mostly the Asian and Hispanic community. Thus, through my story of the empty plot becoming a hub for community, this retail space is actually beneficial to the neighborhood. As the Asian and Hispanic community are known for having a collectivist culture, this only drives people to participate more in community building and make Elmhurst a neighborhood for people to bond and socialize. Therefore, Tous Les Jours, a new retail store in Elmhurst is not just there to sell bread, but to provide a space for bringing the population closer together as a community. As we are how we eat, we eat where being together as a community is possible.

    Question: How does the prevalence of cafes and/or bakeries shape the perspective and “friendliness” of a neighborhood? Does more bakeries/cafes mean a more “social” neighborhood?

    Hillary Sujono

  • Tutorial Post 3: Documentary Photos and Screenshots (What You See in the Streets or Online)

    For your weekly posts, you may want to document parts of the food system you observe yourself—on the street, in stores, in restaurants, at markets, while moving through the city, or things you encounter online in everyday life (apps, ads, menus, delivery platforms, Google Street View imagery, social media interfaces, etc.). Your post must include a title (posts without titles cannot be viewed, commented on, or graded), and must begin with an image at the very top of the post. This image should be a photo you took yourself or a screenshot you captured. To add the image, click ➕ Add block, select Image, and upload the photo or insert it using a URL. If the image connects to an online source (for example, a website or platform), include a short clickable link below the image using linked text rather than pasting a long URL.

    After the image, write one short paragraph describing what you observed and why it matters sociologically. Be sure to clearly communicate the context of the image—where it was taken, what is happening, and what drew your attention to it. When documenting people or workplaces, follow basic privacy and ethical best practices: avoid identifying individuals by name, faces, do not photograph people in vulnerable situations, and focus on spaces, practices, signs, interfaces, or patterns rather than individuals whenever possible.

    End with one critical sociological question that invites discussion. Before publishing, select the relevant section tags and click Publish.

    Jacob Rosette