The LeDroit Park Market

By Brittany M. Lewis
Howard University News Service
Thursday, February 15, 2007

Simon Mahteme makes the elderly woman a turkey sandwich to go, while she sits behind the counter, reads the daily newspaper and answers his business’ phone, which rings relentlessly.

One might think the woman is his mother or store employee, but Gertrude Brown, 79, the mother-in-law of civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson, is just a frequent visitor of the LeDroit Park Market. She also has the distinction of graduating from Hampton Institute at age 61.

Mahteme, 38, the Ethiopian owner of LeDroit Park Market and father of two, brings life and community to his store on a daily basis by getting to know his customers on a more personal level. And at a time when there is so much bitterness directed at immigrants, people in the neighborhood seem love him for it. “I know the names of most of the people who come to the store, with the exception of a few new faces every now and then,” he said.
  
The quaint market sits on the corner of Fourth and T streets in Northwest and has served the community as a quick stop-and-shop and friendly haven for residents who live in the area since a Jewish family owned and operated the store in the 1920s.
  
Recently, however, Mahteme has seen some not-so-friendly behavior towards the place in which he spends most of his time. The market has been robbed, burglarized and vandalized numerous times in the five years Mahteme has owned the business. “It makes me very sad to see desperate people who would destroy the property of others and steal from those who work hard to provide for the community,” he said.
  
Some of Mahteme’s customers said they do not understand the purpose of bothering someone who only provides a place of convenience for the neighborhood. “Simon is a good guy. It’s sad to see good people deal with nonsense and stress,” said Tim Penn, who frequently visits the market – sometimes as much as five times a day. “I come here to get a sandwich or a couple of beers.”
  
Mahteme has developed a very personal relationship with many of his customers. He even lets frequent buyers run up a tab when they can’t afford to pay right away. Others can run home to get more money to pay for their items. The shoppers have even credited Mahteme for letting them take small items for free.
  
The vandalism that has plagued Mahteme’s store has also plagued his heart. “I’m a slave to this store, and I would love to go back to Africa,” Mahteme said. But the LeDroit Park community has supported him after his misfortunes and given him the confidence to keep going, he said. “The people in this community are good people, real good people, and without them I would have given up.”
  
So, he has stayed, a credit as much to his personality as to the support of his customers, some said. “He is one of the most patient people I’ve ever known,” said Awet Gebreegziabher, who has been working at the store for 10 months. “He’s almost too patient. He is almost too good to people who don’t appreciate his graciousness.”
  
Mahteme, who was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, came to the United States when he was 19 years old. “My sister was already here and she was doing well,” he said. “So, my brother and I decided to pack up and move.”
  
Mahteme made sure he disclaimed that he was not starving in Ethiopia and that he had a good life in his homeland, a refutation of the often negative depiction of the country in Western television commercials filled with starving Ethiopian children. He explained to authorities that he migrated to America because, “I wanted to live the American dream.”
  
Mahteme started his business after a friend informed him of a real estate opportunity that involved a store. The store, Mahteme said, is not something that he loves, but something that makes him a good living.
  
“This store is not my passion,” he said. “It’s more like a duty.”
  
Mahteme spends most of his day at the store or running errands to assist the store. “I have no free time, because I spend 14 to 15 hours a day here.”
  
Instead, he said, he wishes he could spend less time at the store and more time with his family.
But financial pressures keep him at the store, where he sweeps the sidewalk outside the building every morning to make the market look presentable to passersby and residents of LeDroit Park.
“Simon is so dedicated to this store,” said Sirgut Tadees, who has worked at the store for two years. “This store is his life.”
  
It takes much dedication to be successful when owning a small business, Mahteme said.
“I work hard for everything I have, and I give and give to people because I believe I will see more greatness with goodness,” he said. “America is great, but here you are on your own. You have to be very strong here.”
  
Mahteme said he doesn’t see the gentrification of LeDroit Park as a threat to his store. In fact, he welcomes it. “If developers want to buy me out for the right price, I would do it in a heartbeat,” he said.
  
As much as he enjoys America, Mahteme said he looks forward to returning to Ethiopia one day. “Africa is a beautiful place, and I have to return there,” he said. “It’s my home.”