Grocery Is Flash Point for Changing Neighborhood

"I'm serving the entire community, not only one group," he said. If the store lost its liquor license, he said, it likely would have to close.

In April, the neighborhood group and Mohammed brokered a deal, and the storekeeper stopped selling malt liquor. He still balked at banning single sales.

A day later, the group filed an official protest of the license. The board is expected to issue a ruling next month.

During hearings before the alcohol board in recent months, Mohammad heard complaints about property values declining and condo purchases falling through because of "negative elements" in the neighborhood.

He said he has been targeted unfairly, noting that other stores in the area sell single beers and that he has never been cited for violating alcohol-board rules.

But in November, after the board indicated that Mohammed's 1991 agreement not to sell single beers was still in force, Mohammed stopped selling singles.

Even so, the protest against his license continues. Association members say they have little faith that Mohammad will respect their concerns.

"It's a trust issue," said David Olsky, a lawyer representing the group for free.

Mohammed is angry and saddened. He thinks the protest is about moving a more upscale business into his storefront, an opinion shared by other backers of the store.

"Their agenda is not about single beer. Their agenda is they want me out," he said. "People can get single beer from anywhere."

After living in Columbia Heights for five decades, Beverly Holland is all too aware of the problems that never went away.

Two people, one of them a 13-year-old boy, were killed on nearby Girard Street -- her street -- in recent months, and gang feuds have heated up in the area.

Having raised three other children, Holland is trying to navigate her 16-year-old son through the neighborhood. She doesn't see Seven Days as a hindrance.

There haven't been any stabbings or shootings in front of the store, she said. "The white folks buy just as much beer as the African Americans. I don't know why they are trying to push the issue."

Brizill emphasizes the concepts of tolerance and community.

"While many new people have moved in, they're not accepting of the people who are there," she said.

"There is going to be friction, but the problem is compounded by lack of communication."