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Sweet dream
Local businessman aims to bring doughnuts, ice cream, jobs to D.C.
(Published July 26, 2004)

By JOSHUA GARNER
Staff Writer

A local businessman has a dream: to bring ice cream, doughnuts and coffee to D.C. residents. Consequently, while his dream is embraced on Kenilworth Avenue NE, it’s become a nightmare on Alabama Avenue SE.

Hossein Ejtemai, majority owner of the Petroleum Marketing Group (PMG) and Central Baking Co., plans to expand his hybrid of gas stations, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins stores throughout the District.

"Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins doesn’t have a presence in D.C.," said Ejtemai, who sees the retail stores as a way for residents to purchase quality coffee and pastries without paying premium coffee shop prices.

The expansion includes the recent opening of a 6,600-square-foot Central Baking factory, which sits at 1329 Kenilworth Ave. NE. The $3 million project at that site also will include a Citgo gas station, a Baskin Robbins/Dunkin’ Donuts store and a job training center. It's expected to be fully operational by year’s end.

"It’s a drastic improvement to the neighborhood," said Jay Hellman of Hellman Co. Inc., who is acting as a consultant to Ejtemai’s expansion project. Hellman notes that the bakery replaced a decaying car lot.

The state-of-the-art factory will supply baked goods to area Dunkin’ Donuts franchised under Central Baking in Virginia, Maryland and the District. Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins stores currently under construction on Rhode Island Avenue, at 18th Street NE and at New Jersey Avenue NW, are expected to be completed in August.

Community leaders and residents in Ward 7 believe the bakery and retail stores will be a boost to the area’s economy and add to its beautification.

In an October 2003 letter to Ejtemai's attorney, Ward 7 Councilman Kevin P. Chavous expressed his support for the development. "I believe this exciting real estate venture will prove to be a significant revitalization of Ward 7 and the District of Columbia," he wrote.

The bakery currently employs 15 workers at $8 an hour and about half of them live in Ward 7, according to General Manager William Ravina.

However, just a few miles away on Alabama Avenue SE in the Fort Davis area, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Johnnie Rice claims that Central Baking hasn’t made a sincere effort to recruit people from the community to work in its retail stores.

"They haven’t hired any people from Ward 7," Rice said.

Ravina said Central Baking is recruiting in the traditional way, by posting employment signs and advertising in local newspapers, but with mediocre response from the community.

"There is nothing better than to have people from the neighborhood," Ejtemai told The Common Denominator.

Alabama Avenue is where Ejtemai’s dream of bringing ice cream and doughnuts to the District has become a nightmare for neighboring residents, who say they don't want the shuttered gas station that Ejtemai purchased to be reopened -- even if the full-service garage bays are replaced with a doughnut and ice cream shop.

"I don’t want to hear anything they say," said Rice, who is a leader of the opposition.

Rice's view reflects a growing sentiment among nearby residents who oppose the reopening of a former Shell gas station at 4107 Alabama Ave. SE. Opposition to the reopening stems from a gasoline leak at the former Shell station, which two years ago forced many Fort Davis families out of their homes for months.

"I don’t want another gas leak. ...We got the power, the money and the juice to fight them," Rice said.

Rice, a 25-year resident of Ward 7, said the Shell station closed shortly after the leak occurred. Several different owners have closed and reopened gas stations at the site throughout the years, she said.

"It was never a profitable location," Rice said.

Rice complained that the proposed Citgo gas station and ice cream/doughnut shop would join several gas stations already within walking distance and add to a string of fast-food restaurants east of the Anacostia River. She called such business establishments in the area excessive.

"My community will not support it," Rice said.

Ejtemai said he respects Rice's opinion but doubts that her opinion is shared by many people. He noted that the pairing of a gas station and retail store has never been done in the area and should make the Alabama Avenue location profitable.

Unlike the Eastland Gardens/Deanwood area, where Ejtemai’s Central Baking project has community support, the development on Alabama has stalled.

"They don’t trust anybody, including the D.C. government," Ejtemai said.

Ejtemai said that PMG has invested $1.3 million in the Alabama Avenue property and is baffled by the community’s opposition.

"I want to make them happy," he said.

PMG and its associates have had several meetings with neighborhood groups, during which they made presentations about engineering technology that would almost eliminate the chance of another gasoline leak. PMG also said it plans to upgrade the site's landscaping.

"Mr. Ejtemai is trying to be responsive and responsible," consultant Hellman maintains.

However, while PMG assembled a team of environmental engineering specialists and consultants to mediate between Ejtemai and area residents, the D.C. Gas Station Advisory Board may ultimately decide whether the ice cream/doughnut shop can be built on the Alabama Avenue property.

"The law was designed to keep dealers going from full service to stop-and-go stations," said Ralph McMillan, who heads the advisory board.

The law in question could keep PMG from opening anything other than a full-service gas station on the lot, unless the company gains community support for the store conversion. Currently, there are no plans to reopen a full-service gas station at the site.

In a July 10 letter to Ward 7 residents, Chavous said the project should not advance.

Still, the conglomerate of PMG and Central Baking, headed by Ejtemai, is determined to appease the community in any way possible -- short of folding its investment on Alabama Avenue.

"All we ask is for them to listen to us. Hopefully, I’ll reach an agreement with the neighbors," Ejtemai said.

Despite the conflict on Alabama Avenue, Ejtemai said he sees a future for his businesses that includes six ice cream and doughnut stores in the District and at least 20 stores in the Washington metropolitan area.