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Life Around Dupont Circle Takes a New Turn
Some local merchants concede that the chain stores have increased foot traffic.
(By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)
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Some area business leaders see substantial benefits in having chains in Dupont. Ed Grandis of the Dupont Circle Merchants and Professionals Association conceded that chain stores don't contribute as much to the community as independents. But he said having several chain anchors draws traffic and provides a stable retail base.
"We want to have services that can meet the residents of today, not 15 years ago," Grandis said.
Some people who live in Dupont feel the same way. While they may be sad to see old places close, the changes strike them as inevitable.
"I think D.C. overall has become a more cosmopolitan city, and retail has to follow that," said Kirsten Brinker, who lived in the neighborhood in 1998 and moved back two years ago. "We couldn't be where we are today without it."
Looking for Help
As Dupont Circle changes, many of its old-line retailers are groping for ways to adapt.
Chris Stone, owner of the Cyberstop cafe near 17th and Q, feels the pressure. He plans to remodel and rename his place this fall. The new 17th Street Cafe will sell alcoholic beverages and food for the first time to compete with chains.
Grandis and others want the District to consider tax credits or other measures that would benefit locally owned stores, easing the pressure of escalating rents. Some cities, including San Francisco, require new businesses to fit the character of a neighborhood.
Under a bill proposed last year by D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D), who is running for mayor, and council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), small retail stores in historic districts would get a 50 percent property-tax credit. The bill, which has not come up for a vote, is limited to certain older businesses and wouldn't benefit all independents.
But such ordinances typically slow change without stopping it. For young people moving into the neighborhood, the newer Dupont is the only one they know. Unlike many older residents, they can walk the busiest three-block stretch of Connecticut Avenue, from the circle to S Street, without being haunted by the ghosts of stores that are no longer there -- or bothered by the shiny chain stores now visible on every block.
Landini, the Axis salon owner, watches them stroll past her door. For her, the "sterilized" Dupont is not the real thing. But she knows it's a matter of time before the people who remember the old Dupont are gone.
"It's not our turn any more," Landini said. "It's the turn of the new people."
