The Japanese restaurant it lost its lease to the incoming $75 million Marriott Tribute Chinatown Hotel, part of a redevelopment project led by Eddie Moy, the building’s longtime owner, and local developer Rift Valley Capital.

“As we enter another healing phase, we have all the intention of regrouping and finding another way of continuing Momiji in the D.C. community,” the restaurant wrote on an Instagram post.

Momiji’s closure highlights a broader shift underway in D.C.’s Chinatown, where longtime businesses are giving way to redevelopment projects and changing demographics. The hotel project, a new luxury apartmenttower and are set to reshape the area.

Some residents and business owners see new investments as a chance to modernize and bring fresh activity to the area, while others worry it accelerates the decline of legacy businesses that once defined the neighborhood’s character.

Andrew Cohen, a Chinatown resident since 2021, said losing local businesses to bigger corporations can impact the cultural aspect of the community.

“It’s a shame to see places closing, but if something is going to close, I hope it can be replaced with something of a similar kind,” Cohen said.

Cohen said he is not familiar with specific plans for the Marriott hotel but added that he is optimistic the company will support the Chinese traditions in the area.

Momiji joins the list of Asian-owned business losses for the neighborhood, following Full Kee Restaurant and Gao Ya Salon, two long-time Asian-owned businesses that vacated their properties in July because of the hotel project.

Moy said the businesses were not forced to leave the building. Instead, he said the owners signed a month-to-month lease with the understanding that redevelopment was possible.

The building owner said the plan is to offer local Asian business owners the option to lease street-level retails and spaces below the hotel.

The hotel project is expected to preserve the seven historic row homes along the H street, where Momiji is located, and will feature 142 boutique rooms, a pan-Asian restaurant and a Chinese market.

“The hotel would bring more foot traffic to the city and a more vibrant and exciting Chinatown to the public sector and the Asian community,” Moy said.

Fewer than 10 legacy businesses.

Momiji’s closure will leave Chinatown with fewer than 10 small legacy-owned businesses, according to . Shani Shia, an activist with the Save Chinatown Solidarity Network, said the closures are part of a larger trend threatening the neighborhood’s cultural fabric.

Shia formed the network in response to  D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser’s  and to “support the preservation of Chinatown’s working class.”

She said the group calls for stronger protections to keep legacy businesses in place, saying that rising rents and redevelopment threaten to erase the neighborhood’s cultural identity.

“There needs to be more cooperation, collaboration and shared prioritization of preserving the legacy businesses instead of trying to replace with new stuff,” Shia said.

Bowser created the task force in 2024 to find ways to revitalize the neighborhood. As the initial stage of the task force came to an end in 2025, the group has recommended new steps to revitalize the area with Asian grocery stores, cultural festivals and targeted funding for minority-owned businesses.

Ben Guzman, the director of the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, said Chinatown is a key part of Bowser’s broader vision for the revitalization of downtown.

“Change is inevitable, and what’s important is how the city, from our perspective as a city agency, is how the city manages that change,” Guzman said. “The coming and going of businesses matters, but it is how we set the table in terms of being a place where businesses can and want to come that helps create the conditions of the culture we want to foster in Chinatown.”

Guzman said the role of Chinatown in D.C. has evolved since it was in the 1880s.

At the time, the prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States. The act pushed Chinese immigrants to create a place where they could integrate with others during a time when the law was against them.

Over the years, the Chinese and broader Asian communities spread to other areas, redefining Chinatown’s role as a cultural hub. In 1990, 60% of residents in Chinatown were Asian. In 2020, that number dropped to about 20%.

Guzman, who has lived around the area for almost 30 years, noted multiple factors that are leading to changes, including the effects of COVID-19 and the growth of other neighborhoods such as The Wharf and Union Market. Both districts underwent rapid redevelopment in the past decade, attracting more businesses and visitors. The Wharf and Union Market serve as examples, Guzman said. “But we’re not just trying to attract businesses to Chinatown. We’re trying to maintain a cultural legacy.”

Evelyn Moy, senior president of the Moy Family Association, agreed. She said Chinatown has long been a cultural touchstone for Chinese Americans in D.C., rooted in the history of exclusion and migrations.

Evelyn Moy said advocates won’t succeed in keeping major developments from happening. However, she sympathizes with advocates who want to preserve the culture in the neighborhood and said she encourages them to keep the cultural legacy alive.

“The city could have done more, but the city can’t save everybody,” Evelyn Moy said. “You have to adapt and change. You have to take the good and the bad, and there has to be a balance.”

The Moy Family Association is not involved in the Marriott Tribune Hotel project led by Eddie Moy and Rift Valley. Eddie Moy is the co-president of the association. However, the hotel is part of a personal project for him.

Although the Gallery Place/Chinatown Task Force completed its initial phase in 2025, Bowser appointed two community advocates to move into a second phase of revitalization. Winston Lord, a D.C. native, and Tim Ma, a local chef, will work as liaisons between the Chinatown community and the city.

Their appointment comes as city leaders seek to guide Chinatown’s transformation while maintaining its cultural identity.

“We will bring Chinatown back as a vibrant cultural destination that’s rooted in heritage and designed to bring people together.” Lord wrote in an .

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“We always look to represent and incubate small businesses that need a leg up,” Mike Berman, organizer of the Downtown Holiday Market, said.

The market is located on F Street NW between 7th and 9th streets in front of the National Portrait Gallery, taking over the block with shimmering lights and holiday tunes. Since opening this year, the market has been bustling with visitors anxious to see the market and shop locally. When Vice President Kamala Harris visited to celebrate Small Business Saturday, she these businesses are “part of the civic and social fabric of the community.”

Me at the holiday market in DC: Why is everyone taking out their phones?

— Matthew Torres (@News_MTorres)

There will be more than 70 vendors present at the market, selling goods like D.C. artwork, glass-blown ornaments and other handcrafted goods. It’s open every day until 8 p.m., which allows visitors who work during the day the ability to peruse the market after.Ěý

This market is an opportunity for businesses to create a presence in the downtown neighborhood without investing in a rental space. With high rents and low tourism numbers since the pandemic, small businesses aren’t racing to get into downtown storefronts.

“There is not a single small business that I deal with that could contemplate the rents that are charged for downtown storefront retail locations,” Berman said.Ěý

ĚýJon Wye, a vendor at the Downtown Holiday Market who sells belts and other leather goods, said in 18 years of operation, he hasn’t even considered opening a brick-and-mortar store downtown.

Ěý“I would have to have a greater selection of items and a much bigger brand… that would just be a lot more stress in my life,” he explained.

The transient nature of the DMV also helps vendors expand their consumer base at the market. Wye said regional customers who come to the market and then move away have “taken [his] brand with them.”Ěý

Jodi Kostelnik owns and operates The Neighborgoods, a small gift shop, from her basement. Before the pandemic she had a storefront in Shaw but had to shut it down. Now, she is looking again for a place to rent, but says she has little hope for a place in downtown D.C. Though costs are top of mind as she is considering where to rent, she said that low foot traffic in the downtown also discourages her.

The holiday market attracts people from all over the DMV, not just D.C. residents. Small businesses get a high level of exposure from this market, since for many of them it’s their only reason to come downtown.Ěý

ĚýSonda Allen, owner of jewelry business Turtle’s Webb, says this holiday market is the only thing that brings her into the area. She says downtown D.C. is much more friendly to larger, multinational businesses.

Ěý“It’s all Starbucks and Louis Vuitton, it’s not feasible for small businesses.”Ěý

ĚýThese larger companies dominate the city center of D.C., with multiple blocks scattered with luxury fashion companies and little presence of smaller ones. Allen says the businesses that operate in the holiday market focus on the art rather than profits.

She said she doesn’t have a storefront and doesn’t want one, “I’m not interested in being a machine, I don’t want the pressure of needing something on the shelves every day.”

ĚýAllen also says that this market, with its focus on small businesses and artists, offers visitors a break from the professional culture of the city. Wye echoed this, saying the political and business presence in the city makes people lean more traditional in their tendencies. With all the “conservative dress and conservative attitudes” in the city, Wye celebrates the market for “inject[ing] some color into the city” to allow people to embrace “a kind of artistic side.”

Vendors and organizers expect sales to be high this year, but not as high as 2020. Last year set a record for many sellers, which Berman attributes to all the other stores and markets in D.C. being closed in 2020.Ěý

“Folks flocked to us… Now, there’s a lot more open… tourism isn’t back… office workers definitely aren’t back yet… but we’re hoping to pick up where we left off in 2019,” Berman said.

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A high-slit mid-length denim skirt.

And a slinky peach gown with bell sleeves.Ěý

These were among the 35 contemporary, ready-to-wear looks DMV-based designer Anifa Mvuemba debuted at the “Hanifa Dream” fashion show Tuesday night.

More than 600 people wrapped in boldly colored garb attended the soiree, held at the National Portrait Gallery.

In her opening monologue, Mvuemba paid homage to Washington, saying that “home is the place where we feel the most comfort and love.”

Her home, she said, is filled with memories of her youth and dreams of her future.

The 10-year-old brand has a dedicated following across the country and even around the world. But, show attendees resoundingly agreed that debuting the collection in the District was important for the city’s fashion scene — proving that the talent in D.C. is just as special as it is in New York.

“I love seeing people rep their home city, so I think it’s great to have people come to you here,” said Devine Blacksher, 28, who traveled from New York to see the show. “I think more people need to go home and do their s—. I stand for it.”

Two dozen models of varying curves sashayed down the runway in patent trousers, leather coats and shirt dresses that captured what some attendees called the “perfect silhouette.”

Backstage, Mvuemba said she thinks it is important to share this moment with the city.

“People just need to give D.C. a chance,” she said. “Give us a shot and we’ll show you guys what we’re made of.”

Mvuemba said she made it a point to hire as many local creatives for the show as possible, though it was difficult. “I like challenges,” she said. “And look — it worked out.”

Roughly 80% of the models who walked in the show are from the area, along with many of the other team members — like the DJ, members of the orchestra, photographers, videographers and makeup or hair artists.

The crowd was also packed with Washingtonians, many of whom were friends and fans of Mvuemba, as well as some editors and retailers from New York. Audience members showed off their own Hanifa originals: jewel-toned silk suits, ribbed-knit dresses and second-skin boots.

Fashion in the District has typically hinged more on practicality and office-appropriateness than on mix-matching colors or taking risks.

“When you talk to somebody, they’ll say ‘Oh, fashion and style doesn’t exist in D.C.’ But, that’s not true,” said Christine Brooks-Cropper, president of the , a non-profit supporting the fashion business community in the area. “It’s been a very private industry that was underground.”

Given the city’s reputation for hosting high end balls and galas, like the White House Correspondents Dinner, where attendees wear high-class couture, Brooks-Cropper said she doesn’t understand why more people don’t recognize the nation’s capital as a fashion city.

“Yeah, it’s a government city. But our style sense is no less than anywhere else,” she said.

Dawn Miller, 46, is a self-declared fashion enthusiast who said she owns just about every Hanifa piece that will fit her body. She said when she thinks about D.C., she doesn’t instantly think fashion. But, Miller said, “Hanifa’s show is giving me a whole different outlook on fashion in D.C.”

In 2008, Brooks-Cropper helped establish the , legislation that ​​advises the mayor, the D.C. Council and the public on the views and needs of the fashion and beauty communities in the District. She said the legislation allowed the local industry to have access to grants, marketing initiatives and other resources they never had before because “at the end of the day, those entities didn’t know that they existed.”

excuse me i’m sorry… did y’all see this??? this virtual runway show is

— LO (@LustforLo)

Before Mvuemba’s first show last night, she broke the internet a year ago with a 3D runway show, gaining the attention of celebrities like Gabrielle Union, Lizzo and Kylie Jenner, who have since worn her designs known for emphasizing and embracing femininity.

On Monday night, the designer was honored as the .

But Mvuemba said it wasn’t always easy. She said she held every job in the industry from sewing, styling and taking photographs to taking out the trash.

“If you perfect your craft — your passion and work will take you where you need to go,” Mvuemba advised other creatives in the DMV area.

Last May, the 31-year-old won $50,000 after being recognized as a Fashion Designers of America/ Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist. That money, Mvuemba said, helped her to fund the show, and helped her secure the National Portrait Gallery as it’s venue.

“The minute I walked in the space I knew I had to have it,” Mvuemba said. “This feels so grand and I feel like we can celebrate our evolution here and bring out a beautiful crowd.”

DC’s designers take fashion by storm

Fashion has long thrived in the District’s neighborhoods — specifically street or urban wear. Despite there being no shortage of talent in Washington, local designers or other creatives said they were still not being recognized.

“Each neighborhood of D.C. has its own fashion center, its own fashion scene, its own culture of its neighborhood,” Brooks-Cropper said. “That translates to the people and that translates to the style and it translates to the dress.”

Plus, numerous universities in the DMV area — like Howard and Marymount — host degrees associated with fashion design, merchandising and entrepreneurship. So, Brooks-Cropper said, the talent has existed in the city for decades. “Why push all these creative people away to New York or someplace else?”

, 50, is a fashion influencer, stylist and content creator in D.C. She said she thinks D.C. is elevating to become one of the major fashion cities.

“A lot has started in the urban communities where fashion originated and was often duplicated,” Delaney said. “But, being here today with Hanifa shows that Black designers have a platform and are standing tall on it.”

Mvuemba’s high profile fashion show, she said, was long overdue.

Around the time that Brooks-Cropper was writing up the 2008 legislation, she emphasized that fashion can be used for economic development. Today, she said the city’s fashion district in downtown’s , featuring household name designers like Gucci, Tiffany and Carolina Herrera in addition to local luxury or streetwear brands, is a testament to that.

Ean Williams, executive director of , said the fashion community in D.C. is burgeoning. “There are far more fashion businesses in D.C. than five to 10 years ago,” he said. “There are a few significant players, but there is room at the table for all.”

Brooks-Cropper said her main goal is to connect artists to the resources and the opportunities that they need. Now, with the infrastructure in place, she said “the industry will be able to thrive successfully for a very, very long time.”

Doncel Brown is another fashion designer in D.C. carving out space for himself in the industry.

He said living in the District allowed him to “see so many different parts of the world in one place” ultimately influencing his brand, . “I don’t think I would have got that same experience had I not been in D.C.,” he said.

 

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Brown said he hopes the District can build a brand that is unique to D.C., so that people have to come to the city exclusively to experience it.

Delaney agreed. “A lot of the fashion stylists, designers, as well as influencers that create impeccable content and work, deserve their due,” she said.

“It’s our time here in D.C.”

The post In a town of pantsuits and power ties, local brand Hanifa redefines fashion in DC first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.