Petworth women in DC are building a thriving business hub.
On Upshur Street in DC, Black women are shaping a new model for community and business collaboration.
In DC’s Petworth neighborhood, one block of Upshur Street is lined with thriving Black woman-owned businesses.
These women are reshaping the meaning of community entrepreneurship. Mostly Washington natives, their Black woman-owned businesses are grounded in legacy and collective empowerment.
For Alexes Haggins, founder of Flowers by Alexes, entrepreneurship runs in the family. She and the other women of Upshur Street shared with WUSA 9 their business journeys and deep ties to the community.
“I’ve been here since I was 9 years old. My father moved to the other end of the block, and that’s where Flowers by Alexes began,” she told WUSA 9. “We reopened the shop, and it’s been thriving ever since.”
Haggins’s event space is a go-to for local creatives and side hustlers—it’s more than a storefront, it’s a launchpad.
Just across the street, Petworth Cigars mixes tradition with neighborhood pride. Owner Dyane Johnson embraces collaboration over competition, saying, “It’s great to have the support and connection between different businesses—shops offering clothing, flowers, food.”
That mix also features Elephant in My Room, a lifestyle boutique by Tisha Brown, who grew from styling racks in her apartment to owning her own brick-and-mortar shop.
“I started selling clothes on a single rack in my two-bedroom apartment five years ago,” she said. “Then I did pop-ups, and eventually set up in Fia’s middle room when she was here. Now, coming back to this space as my own feels full circle.”
Just a few doors down, Michelle Smith’s Cookie Wear has been a neighborhood staple for 25 years.
After some time away, Haggins returned to the area, eager to reconnect. “Coming back and feeling the warmth of the community—it was a beautiful thing,” she said. “We host all kinds of events—yoga, Pilates, crocheting—anything that gives people a place to gather and enjoy the space.”
According to the city’s Department of Small and Local Business Development, Black women now own nearly 40% of Black-owned businesses in the District, with Washington leading the nation in Black-owned businesses per capita. While these women add to those numbers, their collaborative, community-centered approach is setting a blueprint for others. The Black women of Upshur Street are building together, driving economic growth, and strengthening the neighborhood’s ecosystem.
