Chinese Dragon In the Neighborhood

Apparently the owner of the Chinese Dragon take-away food store on the corner of Rhode Island and First Street in our neighborhood got some money from the city government's facade improvement program (that is, from us taxpayers) to improve his store front. Previously, this was just block letters and there was not a little dragon logo over the store windows. I think the front wall was also repainted yellow and the windows have also been washed too so the whole effect is to make this place look a lot smarter. You would never know it but this food establishment was the scene of some drug related shootings back when we had a serious crack cocaine problem in the 'hood. I think someone was even killed right in front of this place, shot to death on the sidewalk. Back then, this corner was a thriving drug market, thanks to the Washington Post for putting the corner on a map of drug dealing locations they routinely printed (to help suburbanites find inner city drug markets).  Today, however, the neighboring store is a more up-market grocery and wine store than what used to be there -- a liquor store -- and the Chinese Dragon has also gotten fixed up.  I've never bought anything to eat from here as I don't "eat on the street" nor have I thought to go in and see what that's there but maybe I should try it.  Does a cleaned up facade mean the food might be more appealing? Some people think so as two people have given positive reviews of this Chinese Dragon here on Yelp.

Dragon Food

The Chinese Dragon carry-out at the corner of First and Rhode Island is closed most of the day. It only seems to open in the afternoon and evening for those who want to eat on the street. I've never bought a single thing from them as I don't have a clue what the food really is about.  This particular street food store got a bad name for itself during the crack-headed 90s because there was at least one shooting either inside the doorway or on the sidewalk out front every season. Somehow the place was associated with the drug dealing that used to occur 24/7 at the corner. There always seemed to be some sort of incident going down in front of the Dragon and in front of what used to be a liquor store on the right side. There were a number of local dealers who stood around and used the payphone that was out front. So the neighborhood activists signed a petition to have the payphone removed as a way to break up their business. Now the dealers use throwaway cell phones and seem to have other ways to meet their customers. Both the carryout and liquor store had counters with huge sheets of thick plexiglass in front of the cashiers to repel bullets and stick-ups, a feature that caused consternation when younger suburbanites started moving back into the neighborhood more recently.  The liquor store next door was bought out by an enterprising Ethiopian family who turned it into a more upmarket coffee shop, grocery, cafe and wine store -- with WiFi access!! -- and now it seems to be a going concern. It is certainly a lot sheeker store than what was there before. I wonder if the Dragon will go the way of the liquor store?