WASHINGTON 鈥� When Paul Pascal first visited Kolker Poultry at D.C.鈥檚 Union Terminal Market in 1955, he had no intention of returning.
He arrived in his full Air Force Band uniform to visit his girlfriend鈥檚 family business, but was quickly turned off by the inner workings of one of the region鈥檚 largest poultry distributors.
鈥淚 actually said I鈥檇 never come back there, and here I am talking to you today,鈥� Paul said. 聽
Paul not only returned to the city鈥檚 wholesale market district, he married into the business, and over the years has become one of the most prominent players in the market鈥檚 history and modernization. In fact, he鈥檚 come to be known by many as 鈥渢he mayor of the market.鈥�
From sausages to souvenirs
Paul isn鈥檛 entirely sure how the nickname came about, but says it鈥檚 likely a result of his efforts in preserving parts of the historic 45-acre district 鈥� sometimes called the Capital City Market and the Florida Avenue Market 鈥� bound by New York and Florida avenues in Northeast.
Kolker Poultry was founded in 1930 by the father of Brenda Pascal, Paul鈥檚 wife. The family set up its business on the northeast and southeast corners of 4th and Morse streets in the heart of the market area.
鈥淭he market was quite an interesting place. Everybody knew everyone,鈥� said Brenda, who also had cousins on both sides of her family own businesses in the wholesale hub of the city.
During the week, distributors would process and sell their products to local stores and restaurants. Up until the early 1960s, the market would open to the public on Saturdays, and vendors would sell their meats, cheeses and eggs.
Paul established his at the market in 1966, and quickly became involved in its politics. In his first year, he represented an association of food distributors, many of whom owned businesses at the market.
In the 1980s, then-Mayor Marion Barry wanted to make improvements to the market, including adding dock-level warehouses to make loading and unloading more efficient. (The warehouses in the Union Market area are ground-level.) He tapped Paul to head up his own association of market business owners, of which he eventually became president.
Despite Barry鈥檚 best efforts, many of the larger wholesalers, including Kolker Poultry, eventually moved their businesses to larger, dock-level warehouses outside the city. But Brenda鈥檚 father held on to his real estate in the market district.
鈥淲hen that happened, you started getting a potpourri of different types of people,鈥� Paul said about the market, which was predominantly run by Italian, Greek and Jewish families in its early years.
He says Korean, African and Caribbean distributors moved to the market district to launch their businesses, selling everything from wholesale souvenirs to specialty foods from their respective regions.
鈥淪o when you go through the market today, it鈥檚 quite a mixture of products, and it鈥檚 nice to see,鈥� Paul said. 鈥淏ut it was the transformation from ground-level to dock-level that forced the change.鈥�
In 2006, an initiative called New Town was introduced, which essentially proposed to level the entire historic market area.
Brenda, who is passionate about maintaining aspects of the market鈥檚 original identity, called the bill 鈥渄isgusting.鈥�
鈥淚 think it takes away the charm and what was there,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can build any big building and do anything, anywhere, but the market is a unique place and has always been that.鈥�
In reaction to New Town, Paul reignited his former association from the 80s and 鈥渟uccessfully avoided having the market torn down鈥� by making sure private owners secured a significant portion of the market.
鈥淚 figured if we could get control of the four corners, they鈥檇 never get the 50 percent,鈥� he said.聽
At the time, the Pascals owned two of the corners, and convinced Bruce Baschuk, of developer J Street Companies, to secure the other two. Edens, a South Carolina-based development company, started buying up properties in the area as well.
鈥淪o there鈥檚 a whole mixture of major players now,鈥� said Paul, whose family now owns 12 addresses in the market district. 鈥淎nd somewhere along the line, because of my involvement, someone called me 鈥榯he mayor of the market.鈥欌��
The modern market
The Capital City Market area witnessed its biggest change in 2012, when Edens opened , a 25,000-square-foot space that is home to 40 regional and international food vendors in the old Union Terminal Market.
In the past four years, Union Market has become one of the most innovative and celebrated destinations in the city. Bon App茅tit listed it as one of the in the country; the first lady and celebrity chefs have hosted events there.
The success of the revitalized market quickly spawned additional development in the area. Independent movie theater Angelika Pop-Up, Dolcezza鈥檚 gelato factory and the upscale Italian restaurant Masseria have opened within blocks of Union Market.
鈥淲e love going there. I mean, you go there on a Saturday or Sunday, and you see all of the young families and people walking around. It鈥檚 a wonderful thing. It鈥檚 a vibrant area now,鈥� Paul said.
In June, Edens broke ground for a 20,000-square-foot at 1270 4th St. NE, headed by chef Jose Garces. The food emporium will anchor an 11-story mixed-use building comprised of 400 residential units and 30,000 square feet of retail.
Paul says he鈥檚 not surprised by the fresh retail that鈥檚 moved in 鈥� citing similar redevelopment projects in other historic markets in New York, Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon 鈥� but he never thought residential units would become part of the market鈥檚 culture.
鈥淎s long as the millennials keep coming into town, you鈥檒l have it. Because they need places to live,鈥� Paul said.
In the next few years, he predicts more restaurants will come to the area as well.
鈥淲ho would have dreamed?鈥� he said about thus far. 鈥淭hey really are pioneers in terms of fine-dining in the market, and you will see more as time goes on. It鈥檚 ideal.鈥�
Brenda says as long as the building鈥檚 facades remain as true to the originals as possible, she鈥檚 fine with the changes.
鈥淚 know the wholesalers aren鈥檛 going to come in like they used to and do the things they used to do. I understand that. But I will fight 鈥� to keep the original buildings in tact, as they are,鈥� she said.
If her father saw the market today, Brenda says he鈥檇 likely 鈥渂e surprised.鈥� Paul says he thinks the former business owner, who died in 1993, would 鈥渓ove it.鈥�
鈥淗e was a progressive, far-thinker. And I think he鈥檇 be very happy to see what鈥檚 happening,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think his goal in raising the daughters and the family was to get real estate and pass it on to the next generation.鈥�
Paul and Brenda Pascal talk about the history of Union Market:聽
