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At the intersection of North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue in Washington DC, just a mile and a half (2,5 kms) from the Capitol building, there’s a liquor store. Nothing exceptional except that the business is owned and managed by a Cambodian family.
The Pich family arrived in the United States in 1988 after some years in Thai refugee camps and 6 months in Philippines before reaching the US. They have been based in the DC area all these last 20 years, and have bought this liquor business from Korean people in 2006. The two boys of the family, Mak and Pron (aged 25 and 29) managed the store, Monday through Friday, from 10am to 10pm. Their parents work in a hotel downtown and regularly come help and keep an eye on the accountancy.
This area at the intersection of North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue is not the safest place in DC. This is where the North East neighborhood starts, on the way to Florida, New York and Rhode Island avenues. The ghetto, a lot of hanging around in the streets, evidently some drug dealing and insecurity.
Pron and Mak are separated from their customers with thick windows. The money is checked before anything is delivered… Calling the police to get rid of excited customers is not rare. Still it’s a business, and even during these hard times, the sales of beer, wine, soda, hard liquor and lottery tickets constantly bring people into the shop. The two boys don’t have much time to be bored...
