Eddie Moy wants to set the record straight.
Moy, whose family roots are three generations deep in in D.C.’s Chinatown, said he was hurt by the insinuation that popular longtime restaurant Full Kee closed last month because it was “forced out” to make way for a hotel — A hotel that would be built on property Moy’s family has owned for decades on H Street NW.
“We would play football on the lot where Wah Luck was built,” Moy said.
His father, Hamm Moy, opened Veteran’s Market at 6th and G Streets NW after returning from military service in World War II, where he earned a Purple Heart.
His father, Moy said, began to quietly dream bigger.
He said he was surprised, after his father’s death, to find the hardworking shopkeeper and devoted family man had been studying real estate books. He said his father had even created a proposal to build a hotel in Chinatown, a dream his son is about to make real, decades later.
“As a Chinese person, I think the Asian family, any person would be proud to follow the legacy of their ancestors and continue on and maintain the future of Chinatown and help this community,” Moy said.
Renderings for the Marriott Tribute Chinatown hotel show the front facade of the buildings preserved. The interior design will show a Chinese influence extending to the rooms, a restaurant and an Asian market, among other things.
“We’re going to be able to celebrate Chinatown and the Moy family legacy through design, through programming, through service,” said Stephan Rodiger, developer with Rift Valley Capital.
Moy said it hurt when people attributed the recent closing of Full Kee Restaurant to his “forcing out” the owner.
He provided a letter she submitted to the D.C. Council in June. It noted she took the lease with full awareness the building could be sold at any time and expresses her support for the hotel project.
“I’ve known her for a long time, she’s been my friend, we vacation together and she knew from the get go any day I could sold,” Moy said.
Moy said the hotel means his family’s long roots will continue to be part of the District and its Chinatown in a new and more modern way.
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/tFRexCO
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