In 1916, Woodrow Wilson was president and the United States had 48 states after Arizona and New Mexico joined the Union just four years earlier.
On 12th Street SE in D.C., a three-story brick building with a tin mansard roof opened its doors as a neighborhood grocery store.
After more than a century of serving the community under different names, neighborhood residents repaid that debt by raising the funds to reopen Mott鈥檚 Market after it sat closed for four years.
鈥淭hat’s almost unprecedented. The neighbors came together, invested and bought the building,鈥� D.C. Council member Charles Allen said. 鈥淚n the next three years, rebuilt it into the Mott’s Market that we’re reopening today.鈥�
Christine Campbell, who is vice chair of the board of Mott’s Market LLC, made the crowd at the grand opening celebration laugh by pointing out that you could buy not only soap at the store, but also champagne.
Mott’s Market reopened in June, but the official grand reopening Tuesday gave the adults a chance to sip on the bubbly while the kids, and the young at heart, got to blow bubbles as a way to toast the store.
鈥淚 am third generation in this neighborhood,” Campbell said. “My grandmother bought a house on Walter Street in 1928, and we’ve had it in the family ever since. Mott’s has been a centerpiece of everything we’ve done over the generations.”
There are more than 90 investors in Mott鈥檚 Market, and they have turned the keys over to Peyton Sherwood, who has been in the restaurant business since before he was old enough to drive.
鈥淚 came in with some ideas on what I thought would be a really nice tribute to the store that was here, and also a way that we could make it a community gathering space,鈥� Peyton Sherwood said.
From coffee, pastries and breakfast burritos in the morning and sandwiches at lunch, this version of Mott鈥檚 Market is much more than your average corner store.
鈥淲e have a liquor license, so you want to come and drink a nice bottle of wine with your friends or eat a cheese charcuterie platter,鈥� Sherwood said.
鈥淲e have that too. Yeah, it’s we pack a lot into a little here.鈥�
As big as the smile was on Peyton Sherwood鈥檚 face and the neighbors who helped make this happen, the one on legendary D.C. reporter Tom Sherwood鈥檚 face was beaming: 鈥淎s a father, I’m very proud.鈥�
Tom said his son spent the past two years doing much of the interior work himself while navigating the city鈥檚 permitting process.
鈥淚 didn’t help him except give him father’s love and advice to keep at it son, you’re doing something good,鈥� Tom said. 鈥淚 think you see today with this crowd that he is.鈥�
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