As the D.C. Council deliberates the city’s fiscal 2026 budget, one group is pushing council members to reserve money to save Chinatown’s small businesses.
“Chinatown is on the brink of erasure,” Shani Shih, founder of Save Chinatown Solidarity Network, told WTOP’s Luke Lukert.
On July 1, the Full Kee Restaurant and Gao Ya Hair Salon were vacated from their spots for the development of a new boutique hotel that would combine the historic row homes with a new nine story construction.
“They’re really cornerstones of the remaining Chinatown community,” Shih said about the two businesses. “When they think of Chinatown and their childhood memories, and in Chinatown, they think of Full Kee. … It’s been around for 40 years, affordable, nutritious food, open late night.”
The Save Chinatown Solidarity Network has rallied outside the Wilson Building this month, attempting to push the D.C. Council to make provisions in next fiscal year’s budget to include a variety of measures the group believes can help preserve the culture of Chinatown.
Shih said they are specifically pushing for tax abatement reform for developers to require them to commit, in writing, to preservation mechanisms for Chinatown.
“This means if they’re going to build a huge, 200-unit, mixed-use complex … they will be required to provide community space, or they’ll be required to ensure that the retail that they put in on the first floor is not big box retails,” Shih said. “No more McDonald’s and Chipotles. We need community to have input on this retail.”
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