When some D.C. natives hear the words “Shrimp Boat,” they smile at old memories from time spent at the iconic landmark that sits at the intersection of Benning Road and East Capitol Street NE  in Ward 7. It originated in the mid 1950’s as a hotspot that served up some of the District’s favorite seafood: hot steamed crabs, shrimp and fish. As at different times in its history, vendors at Shrimp Boat have sold everything from cheap carryout food to music, clothing, videos, jewelry and shoes.

“You could go there to snag go-go cassette tapes, and get you some fresh fish,” says Nee Nee Taylor, a Ward 7 resident. 

Construction on the Shrimp Boat began in 1953 in an undeveloped area – what we know now as Ward 7.  However, as buildout of the restaurant progressed, a community formed around it. Affordable housing was constructed, and families moved in. J. Fletcher Wilder bought the building in 1954 from a seafood broker for $200,000 and the Shrimp Boat restaurant, per se, was born. In a 1981 interview with The Washington Post, Wilder said that at its peak in the 1950s, Shrimp Boat grossed an average of $500,000 to $600,000 a year, “selling 35-cent fresh fish sandwiches and 15-cent milkshakes, not to mention chicken, ribs, potato salad and home-baked pie.”

However, in the 1960’s the restaurant began to see a decline, and the downward spiral progressed further with each decade. Wilder credits this to increased crime in the surrounding area. “People’s way of thinking about the security of being out interfered with their coming out at night,” he told the Post. Residents, however, placed the blame squarely on a decline in the quality of the food, and a lack of building upkeep. “They used to have good food, but I don’t go in now because of the way it looks,” resident Felicia Simms said in the same Washington Post interview.

The area where Shrimp Boat stands is in the midst of major changes – residents from Wards 7 and 8 say the change is a double edged sword: They appreciate the District’s new energy and opportunities, yet also feel that their history and the authentic Black essence of the city is being erased. Some historic landmarks, communities, and cultural events have dwindled or no longer exist. “I watched a lot of stuff change — and I mean change right in front of me,”  D.C. native Samir Ford says. 

The Shrimp Boat is currently under new ownership. Its main fare now is soul food — chitlins specifically — and breakfast served all day. The place once packed with locals, bursting at the seams with hot, fresh seafood is no longer. It’s now used mostly as a landmark to give directions. You often hear “make a right (or left) by the Shrimp Boat” with a heavy D.C. accent. Most are happy to see that one of Ward 7’s historic landmarks is still standing, despite other changes in the area. 

“I mean, that’s a staple here in D.C.,” says District native Joyce Johnson. “There’s so many things, what [with] the gentrification, that is gone.”

DCist spoke with residents of wards 7 and 8 about what Shrimp Boat means to them. Here is what they had to say. Some participants chose to be identified by their first name only for privacy reasons. Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Joyce Johnson, D.C. Native

[I was] born and raised in Southeast D.C., over on Douglas Road – the Farms (Barry Farm housing complex). I mean, that’s a staple here in D.C. (Shrimp Boat). It’s so many things, you know what with the gentrification, that is gone. There’s a lot of places that are gone. They’re going out of business, places I grew up with. Murry’s, (Murry’s Steaks) come on now! But Shrimp Boat is still hanging strong. I remember when all they used to sell was seafood like crab, shrimp, fish.

You know, it was sort of like a market. You could go in there and order what you wanted. So, I mean, this is different.  I’ve been in there a few times. I was hesitant when they first got there. I was like, “oh Lord,” you know, because I’ve gotten some mixed reviews. I’ve known people who have eaten there, and they were like, “no, you don’t want to get this.” I’m the type of person that always tries the place for myself. You can’t always go by word of mouth of someone else. So, I went in there a couple of times and it’s is pretty good. You know, I’ve had the ribs, the pork chops, their lo mein . It’s holding true to the quality that’s expected from the Shrimp Boat. It’s more soul food then what it used to be. I mean, come on now, [they have] chitlins, hog maws.

I don’t eat them the way I used to, but I remember the time when you couldn’t [get] that. So I like that, and [they serve] breakfast all day. That used to not happen either. I think this is a good thing. It’s more [ about] keeping up with where it is.

They have put a MetroPCS right here. So still the Shrimp Boat, but it’s got more on the other side of it. They have people with stands selling shoes, clothes and merchandise. That’s a good utilization for this building. It’s more than one business, like a one stop shop really. Like the Fifth Street Market.  A lot of our staples are just gone. I was sad when they closed Fifth Street Market and they made it what it is now. I must go to Eastern Market to get everything [now].

I’m glad to see the Shrimp Boat is still hanging in there and they have kept up with the times, they have diversified to the point where they can still be there. You know, if one thing cannot sustain the mortgage or whatever on the whole building, why not branch out wide and franchise and bring more opportunity to Ward 7? I would like to see a lot of other things happen in Ward 7, even in Ward 8, where I used to be.

I’m kind of through with Ward 8 right now because, it’s like, a lot of our staples are gone. The Discount Mart, gone. Now they’re putting up high rises and condos.  [They say] we’re making it affordable, affordable for who?  They say we’re making sure that low-income people can get in there. I’m like, yeah, but I don’t fit in that bracket. I’m in a bracket where I’m not on section 8, and I don’t make the salary to afford to be in a condo either. Things are changing, it’s just good to know that the Shrimp Boat is still here.

Samir, D.C. Native

I’ve watched a lot of stuff change, and I mean change right in front of me. It’s still changing. My experience, you know, I ate out of there twice. I only get like a lot of drinks, and maybe some fruit, and the bean pies because my brother sells the bean pies. Anything else I don’t mess with.

How do you utilize the Shrimp Boat?

As a landmark, that’s it. That’s the only thing you can use it for now. A lot of people don’t know where the Benning Road Metro station is, but a lot of people know where the Shrimp Boat is. They’re taking all the other landmarks down.

John “Ali”, D.C. Native

I know the whole history from when the boat used to be on the top. The Shrimp Boat was open [on] all sides. You had your fresh fish, everything in it. It was like Eastern Market, how everything [was] laid out. That’s how the shrimp boat was. It wasn’t closed off or separated. You can go to any door to make a purchase. And yeah, I ate out of there. Back then, and just the other day! Right now, it’s only certain stuff I eat out of there. I get like, beans, rice, maybe some liver or salisbury steak with rice, or mashed potatoes. I’m a rice eater.

What was the vibe of the old Chocolate City?

It was fun, it was lovely. You had more love back then for one another than you have now. Everything was about, if I had a problem with you, we would fight it out regardless of who [would] win or lose. We’d go to the store, get something to drink, and sit down and drink and laugh about it. Nowadays, it’s not like that. That’s the love that we had for each other, you know? We just did our disputes with our hands. It wasn’t trying to hurt nobody. Nowadays, all that’s gone. They took the Chocolate City away – you have all the different foreigners and all of them moving in. So, it’s not Chocolate City anymore. They start taking away the property from the Blacks, giving it to the Koreans the whites and different type of people.  So, the concept is this, they should call it mix city now.

It’s a heck of a landmark (Shrimp Boat) because why, you got people that come to this city, they could be somewhere else and they ask you, where’s the Shrimp Boat? It’s easy to get to because you’re going to see it up top. Everybody be like, well, I’m trying to get to the DMV. You know where the Shrimp Boat at?  Yeah, right down the street from the Shrimp Boat. Once you say the Shrimp Boat, they know they know how to get here, but they don’t know that certain places is right here, too. It’s a real good landmark. I hope they never take it away because they’ve taken away all the other landmarks in the city.

This is going to be the only one still standing because everything else is gone.

When you take everything away from us it’s not D.C. anymore. So, while some might say, “well, I want to go to D.C.,” I might say I want to move out of D.C., because it’s not the same. Everything is new. I grew up here from a kid, I ran these areas where I’ve seen what these people never seen of in D.C. I even teach my daughter… I show her pictures of some of the old stuff, and she was like, “Daddy, for real”? I said, “yeah, this is how it used to be.” Neighborhoods gone, parks gone, recreation centers gone, schools gone. And you wondering why we like the way we are.

Patrick Beverly, D.C. Native

I’m from Southeast D.C. This is a landmark, it’s how you tell everybody how to get everywhere. When you get to the shrimp boat, make a right. You get to the shrimp boat, make a left, get to the shrimp boat, go straight, then make a right. DMV, up the street from the Shrimp Boat. So, you know, that’s what you tell people. So, this is my first time eating here in a few years, I’ll have to say. It used to be a seafood joint. You came up here to get your crabs, shrimp and stuff for the weekend and go chill in the park. You know, now, it’s a little carry out. These people seem to be okay – it seems clean.

It’s gone through several phases and there may have been a time when it was Black owned. When I was coming up, as a child, I don’t remember it being Black owned. I remember Black folks working here, but it was also white folks [that] used to be here. It’s something that we are familiar with. I travel a lot for my job. No matter where you go in the country, if you run into a true D.C. native, they know about the Shrimp Boat. It’s kind of like what Ben’s Chili Bowl used to be back in the day over on U Street. Now that’s even gentrified. But, you know, that’s a different  story.

Kaream Lee, D.C. Native

I’m from, you know, D.C., raised up Northwest. In my teen years, I grew up on the Southside. Honestly, the Shrimp Boat doesn’t have too much significance to me personally. I do understand that it’s a Washington landmark that’s been around for quite some time, and a lot of people do take pride in it. I tried some food from that place, it’s okay. I don’t like the strong chitlins smell, but the food is okay. I’m pretty sure now people know what to get and what not to get.

People see this place as a landmark. There’s a few, like Ben’s Chili Bowl. They’re tearing down a lot of stuff. It has some significance to the locals.

I really don’t know too much history [ about Shrimp Boat] besides it’s been around for probably like a couple of decades. I’ve seen articles about the shrimp boat [from] back in the day. I’ve been living around here for like five years and this place has been standing, still. They sell clothes and stuff. This [new] food place just got here like, a year and some change ago. The whole thing was closed for a minute. Now they have like, a tobacco store, the Metro PCS. They found a way to get it get it back and operational.

Better than hearing it from me, just come to the Shrimp Boat or just come to the area and see what’s up with over here. You know, like, it’s a lot of history, a lot of old D.C. qualities still in the area. Like gentrification has hit, but hasn’t hit [hard] yet. We’re starting to see signs of it. It still has the same Southeast vibe. All I can say is, come down and check it out.

Maceby, D.C. Native

I’m a native Washingtonian.  I remember Shrimp Boat back in the day. All they basically sold in there was seafood. They had fresh seafood and they cooked [it]. That was the original Shrimp Boat, I don’t know what this place is now.  They have a name on top of it that was not on the original one. They call it Shrimp Boat Plaza now. They [are] selling soul food in there. Back in the day, it was no such thing as soul food in the Shrimp Boat, because they specialized in seafood! Now is there anything else you want to talk about?

How was it back in the day? Was it Black vendors out here; What was it like during the authentic Chocolate City times?

It was more peaceful back then. It wasn’t a lot of shootings, killings and all that crazy stuff that’s going on nowadays. Mostly what we would do back in back in the day was… it’d be a fist fight, and the next day the people [who got] in a fist fight, we’d make up, kiss, be the best buddies. It used to be vendors on the outside, on the East Capitol Street side. I remember that very well.

Was the Shrimp Boat ever Black Owned?

Of course, it was. It’s not now. I can’t think of the nationality of those that’s in ownership of the new boat now, but they’re not our people. As far as I’m concerned, the food in there is nowhere near like how it was back in the day when it was the original Shrimp Boat. The Shrimp always has been, and always will be a landmark in D.C., formerly known as Chocolate City.