A chopped cheese, bread swapped for a Jamaican beef patty. Bacon egg and cheese, but coddled between raspberry Pop-Tarts instead of a roll. Halal chicken with Salsalito turkey and spicy Doritos, all sandwiched between pancakes. Ingenuity is alive at the TikTok-famous Red Hook Food Corp (603 Clinton Street), where Rahim Mohamed has grown a following for his wild off-menu creations. Despite four years of internet fame, the business still has a pinned up banner rather than a permanent sign, but everyone knows exactly what it is.
Mohamed does not own the store, but as he puts it, he is CEO of the “Ocky Way”—the tagline he uses as he cooks up the specialty sandwiches (“Ock” is a shortened, phonetic version of “akh,” which means “brother” in Arabic). He is the main attraction for 976,000 Instagram followers and over 5.4 million TikTok followers who want to see his wild sandwiches and the people who order them. Although he has worked in the bodega for years (it was previously at another location), he started the social media account during the pandemic. Now, tourists travel from across the boroughs and the country to try his creations. Even celebrities make the trek, with notable visits from rappers like Big Sean and Lil Uzi Vert, and athletes like NFL player Eli Manning and NBA player Mikal Bridges.
Recently Ocky and his partners deceded to expansion into the 99 cent store they also owned next door. Enlargement of the small bodega has already begun, and Mohamed estimates that the project will be completed in about two months. It will allow the store to provide a greater variety of foods to customers. He is also planning a grand opening, complete with a rapper-studded guest list and perhaps even Mayor Adams (depending on the status of his lawsuits).
Despite internet fame, Mohamed remains eminently approachable, with a brotherly camaraderie he extends to everyone who stops in. On a recent evening, Mohamed happily answered my questions while simultaneously manning the cash register, a wide grin always on his face. As I left the store, he called out: “Have a blessed day!” That’s the ocky way.
