Dixie Liquor, D.C.’s oldest liquor store which has sold alcohol to Georgetown students for more than 90 years, may soon be closing in order to serve a new 21+ product—marijuana.
JKEntity, LLC is seeking a medical cannabis retail license to operate at 3429 M St NW, the current site of Dixie Liquor. It is unclear why Dixie may vacate the location. The owners of Dixie Liquor and the building itself have not responded to requests for comment from the Voice.
The proposed business has entered a months-long protest period during which the Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) and residents can express their concerns and attempt to resolve them via a settlement agreement, which will be brokered by the ANC. Residents can express their concerns via a protest petition to the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) before Oct. 15, at the roll call hearing on Nov. 4, or protest hearing on Dec. 11.
If the license is approved by the ANC and ABCA, Dixie Liquor will close, and the location will no longer be able to sell alcohol.
JKEntity’s owner Rabbi James Kahn is hoping to sell “cannabis flowers, cannabis concentrates, and a line of edible products and home delivery services to registered patients in Washington, D.C.,” according to the notice of public hearing posted by ABCA on August 30. Kahn told the Voice that he hopes to open his store in early 2025, which means that Dixie would likely shut its doors before the end of the academic year, if the license is approved.
Kahn chose the location intentionally.
“For one, we love the Georgetown [location], two, we love its [proximity] to different parts of Virginia. And three, it’s an iconic property,” Kahn said. “So to find a property that has a storied history was incredibly exciting for us.”
However, stakeholders in the Georgetown community, including students, have been surprised by the proposal.
“I would definitely say it’s out of the blue,” ANC Commissioner Joe Massaua (SFS ’25) said. He spoke to the Voice ahead of the Sept. 30 ANC meeting, where Kahn answered questions about his proposal.
“I will be asking them pretty serious questions about the way that they will be verifying age, why they specifically chose this location, and if there are other locations that they could choose depending on their clientele, because it’s going to be applying for medicinal [sale], which is different than recreational,” Massaua said about his plan for the meeting.
He expressed concerns that the proposed location may be specifically targeting Georgetown students.
“Given D.C.’s lax medical laws, it raises questions as to why they would want to locate so close to the university,” Massaua said.
Patients in D.C. can “self-certify” for a medical cannabis card at any point, including inside a cannabis retail location. Students wishing to buy cannabis at a licensed medical retailer would only need to show proof of age, fill out a brief online form, and pay a fee between $10-100, which concerns Massua.
Residents, too, worry about the proposed location’s proximity to campus.
“It’s close to a university, it’s close to a high school, it’s close to a middle school, an elementary school. It just doesn’t seem like the right location,” Georgetown resident Kevin Wheeler said at the meeting. The neighborhood is already home to almost two dozen shops selling cannabis.
Kahn attempted to ease residents’ fears, saying that the potential location is compliant with ABCA guidelines.
“We want to contribute meaningfully to the Georgetown community,” Kahn said. “We want to be good neighbors. I want to be a dispensary that I would be happy to live next to, that I’d be happy for my kids to live next to.”
Cannabis is the family business for Kahn, whose parents are co-owners of Tacoma Wellness, one of the city’s top-grossing medical retailers. He hopes to continue that legacy of success and government compliance in Georgetown, according to comments he made during the Sept. 30 ANC meeting.
“We will be legal. We will be taxed, We will be compliant. We will sell products produced solely in Washington, D.C., by licensed and regulated D.C. growers,” Kahn said during the meeting.
JKEntity is entering an already crowded field of prospective cannabis businesses. According to research done by the Voice, there are at least 236 cannabis shops operating in D.C., more than 60 of which have applied for a license. Unlicensed businesses are not subject to the same regulations and inspections as licensed medical retailers, nor do they pay the same tax rate. The sale of cannabis beyond licensed medical retailers remains illegal.
Until recently, most D.C. cannabis shops operated in the “gray market” created by Initiative 71, or I-71, that legalized the use of recreational marijuana in the District but not its sale. I-71 compliant stores “gifted” customers over the age of 21 marijuana in exchange for the purchase of another item like a t-shirt, sticker, or postcard.
ABCA and the D.C. Metro Police Department began cracking down on these shops this summer. So far this year, they have issued 84 warning letters and 23 cease and desist orders. Since these stores are not officially licensed by ABCA or the district, their product is largely unregulated and officials are concerned about lost tax revenue. Four stores have been padlocked this month over the sale or possession of cannabis with intent to distribute, and a fifth was shut down because the owners were allegedly selling psilocybin, or magic mushrooms.
There are currently at least 21 businesses, licensed and unlicensed, selling marijuana in the Georgetown neighborhood. ANC Commissioners and residents alike have expressed concerns with the number and quality of cannabis businesses operating in the area.
Commissioner Topher Mathews worries about their impact on the community.
“I think it’s not great for the Georgetown business brand to have so many [cannabis retailers],” he said. “They’re a little tawdry, even the licensed ones.”
While Dixie’s fate remains uncertain, if JKEntity’s license is approved, the location’s 90th year will be its last, much to the dismay of some students.
“It’s one of the places that is quintessentially Georgetown, and its closing would make our campus feel like it is losing the college atmosphere,” Jonah Presser (SFS ’25) wrote to the Voice.
