Chinatown is shrinking, as anyone who’s seen all the shuttered storefronts along H Street, Northwest, has noticed. Many of the longtime Chinese businesses have closed, and American chains have moved in, serving burgers or coffee beneath neon signs stamped with Chinese translations. Most recently, Full Kee Restaurant and Gao Ya Hair Salon closed as developers moved forward with plans to build a Marriott hotel on the lot. Many residents have been priced out of the once-bustling neighborhood, which was home to about 3,000 Chinese residents in 2010. Now that number is closer to 350.
But while DC’s Chinatown feels much diminished, residents and business owners still consider the area a place of connection and culture that’s worth protecting. About ten AAPI-owned small businesses remain, weathering the changes in the neighborhood. There are still spots to order an authentic meal, chat with your cashier in Mandarin or Cantonese, or find a traditional remedy for a cough. To get a sense of what’s being lost, we spent time with people behind four remaining establishments, some of whom spoke in Mandarin. (Responses have been translated.)
—Katie Doran
De Zhi Co.
602 H St., NW
Since 2012
De Zhi Co. is a spot you’ll find only if you know where to look. The small second-floor shop doesn’t even have a website, but it does offer one of the best selections of traditional Chinese medicinal goods in DC. Its shelves are crowded with fragrant collections of Chinese herbs, teas, snacks, and ingredients. But business is slow, according to owner Liu Chan Quiang. “It’s mostly local people, friends, neighbors who shop here,” he says, speaking in Mandarin. “Chinatown used to be livelier. Since Covid, there have been fewer tourists, less people, and less business.”…