WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Days after announcing the permanent closure of his restaurant in Chinatown, business owner Noe Landini sat down with WUSA9 to discuss why he decided to shut down Bar Deco.
Landini says that after eight years on the 700 block of 6th Street Northwest, he decided to not renew another five-year lease after seeing the rise in crime in the area.
"All you have to do is walk outside this door and walk from one end of the block to the other," Landini said as he listed a series of crime incidents reported nearby.
Several store fronts on 6th Street are empty and more are set to clear out by the end of the year. "How do you lure people to an area that is distressed and has crime? That's not a recipe for success," Landini added.
Flight Wine Bar, which is a couple doors down from Bar Deco, announced they are closing their location at the end of the year after a decade. The bar owners told digital media brand Eater, that their business has not recovered from the pandemic and that rising crime rates and empty office spaces have compounded the problem.
Bar Deco's team echoed a similar experience. Director of Operations Jesse Maas, told WUSA9 that on the best days after the pandemic, sales at the restaurant were 70% below an average night in 2019. "I think we are still a great business, and our team did an amazing job, but there are some things in life you don't have control over," Maas said.
Landini who also owns Landini Brothers Restaurant in Alexandria, Va. says he is aware people changed their habits following the pandemic and recognized that less people commute to the District. However, he credits crime for the significant decline in foot traffic. "If there is a crime presence, you lose the foot traffic. That used to be our regular business," he said.
A year-long study of the Gallery Place Chinatown Corridor released earlier this year by Downtown DC noted that visible drug sales, increased presence of unhoused people, and disruptive panhandling added to create negative perceptions and experiences in the corridor.
A week ago, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared public emergencies on the opioid crisis and youth violence in the District. The Bowser administration says that both problems have not only persisted, but worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, the DC Council voted against a measure that would allow Mayor Bowser to wave some laws as she deals with the simultaneous public emergencies. Councilmembers voiced their concerns after not receiving the list of laws that the mayor was considering. Several members emphasized that Bowser had full power to address the crises without the additional resolution.