The owners of MondEpice, a new pop-up store in Western Market, hope to make the shop a permanent feature in the food hall.
MondEpice — a spice and tea pop-up shop selling teas, salts, spices and flavored sugars — officially opened March 20 near Maman in Western Market, but the owners said they are currently trying to transition to a permanent stall following positive reception from the community in its first month of operations. D.C. General Manager Hamere Taye said the intersection of international organizations, the University and office buildings makes Foggy Bottom an “interesting space” to build out.
Taye said the Western Market location was originally supposed to open in January of this year, with a Union Market location following shortly in April. Taye said the decision to begin the process of becoming a permanent location came in response to positive customer feedback.
“We saw the love and the demand was from the city and all across the board saying, ‘When are you guys gonna be here? When are you guys gonna be here?’” Taye said.
Taye said MondEpice has had some challenges in its efforts to become a permanent location, adding the management is working with MRP Realty, which developed Western Market with GW, to ensure the store is compliant with all D.C. regulations.
“There’s a lot of steps,” Taye said. “Even though you’re an established business, you’re almost starting all over again, because there isn’t something like this. So we don’t fit every category.”
MondEpice is a fourth-generation family business that originated in Naples, Italy in 1933 before expanding into France and coming to the United States, according to the store’s website. The founder’s descendant, Francois Athea, initially brought MondEpice to New York City in 2010 before looking to expand beyond their New York locations — in Grand Central Station and Chelsea Market — with D.C. locations this year.
“People will come in and just want the salsa and guacamole, and then they’ll end up buying the cilantro rice because they want to complete a meal,” Taye said. “So they come in with one thing in mind, and then they realize there’s a whole experience that they can build around it.”
Taye said Western Market location provides a diverse group of potential customers, and they were still trying to “figure it out.” She said currently, the “goal” in Western Market is to become permanent.
The brand also has an online shop that customers can buy from, but Taye said having the physical store gave people a “traditional” experience.
“We have these very traditional people that want to smell, taste and experience as they really connect,” she said. “There’s a lot of love, and there’s a lot of intention to really experience it, and they end up getting more of things from the tasting.”
