Neighborhood Mixer

As upscale condos have changed the neighborhood mix, Ghebrelul's Barrel House Liquor dropped 40-ounce beers and now offers more exotic beverages. (By Nikki Kahn -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo

Ghebrelul insists on having a fully stocked store because he worries he will lose customers if he is out of the product they are looking for. Recently retired liquor salesman Steve Mostow said Ghebrelul would call repeatedly if an order went unfilled. "He doesn't wait for a salesman, he reacts to a need," Mostow said.

Others changes are in the works. Ghebrelul said he has noticed customers place a premium on fast service. To that end, new cash registers will be installed after the holidays along with several credit-card processing machines. This will enable Ghebrelul to phase out the single machine he uses for all credit card transactions. He also plans to hire a wine expert and expand Barrel House's Web site.

The initiatives appear to have paid off. Sales, which he keeps by hand on a single manila folder, have approximately tripled since he took over the store 12 years ago.

Other shops on this stretch of 14th Street have not fared as well. Chong Won-Hu owns Carry Out Deli, a restaurant that dispenses eggs, grits, home fries and other home-style cooking to customers on the run. Though she has owned and operated the store since 1989, she plans to leave when her lease expires in 2011 because business is down. She laments the departure of old neighbors and said newcomers prefer to grab their breakfast at relatively recent neighborhood additions Starbucks and Caribou Coffee.

Some upstart businesses targeting new, affluent residents also have struggled with soaring rental rates and real estate taxes. Maison 14, a 3,000-square-foot furniture store that peddled contemporary European designs, French antiques and handmade Moroccan pieces, opened on this block in July 2002. Former co-owner Christopher Walsh said he and business partner Giles DeConcilio thought Logan Circle seemed a good location for their store because it was an affordable and up-and-coming neighborhood. Maison 14 closed in 2005 when, Walsh said, their landlord upped the monthly rent from $6,500, which included some storage space, to around $12,000. Walsh said their landlord attributed the increase to a hike in real estate taxes.

For one business, a move across the street made a difference. The Fair Price Market and Deli had been on 14th Street for about a decade when its lease was up for renewal in 2006. Store manager Anwar Haq said the landlord doubled the rent. Unable to afford the increase, Haq moved into a smaller space almost directly across from its old location. Since the move, Haq said, business has increased about 15 percent and the customers are more racially diverse.

Downtown Lock Co., a neighborhood fixture since 1960, has received offers from law offices, restaurateurs and art studios looking to buy the property and be a part of an increasingly trendy neighborhood. So far, the company has resisted, but co-owner Reuben Houchens said that with real estate taxes close to $15,000 annually, "it's kind of tough to keep."

Though Ghebrelul owns Barrel House Liquor, he does not own the building. His lease will be up for renewal in 2010. Asked whether he plans to stay, he said: "Oh, yes. There is no other place."