Washington, D.C
A Venezuelan Bite in the Heart of Washington, D.C. | Caracas Chronicles
Historically, migrants around the world have gathered around a table. Whether to keep their traditions alive, celebrate big moments, or find comfort during hard times, food is deeply linked to cultural identity. It represents a people’s heritage, history, and values. Although those statements are not unique to Venezuelans, the Venezuelan arepa has found a permanent home in the capital of the United States, exemplifying the power of food to connect the diaspora.
Gabriela “Gaby” Febres lived in Miami since she was a kid after her mom, born and raised in Maracaibo, got an opportunity to move to the United States. When Febres graduated from high school, she left for Washington D.C. to study audio engineering at American University, one of the most prestigious universities in the area. Most of her friends were from other countries during this time, and she had no strong connection to Venezuela other than her family back in Florida. After finishing college, she planned to move to New York or California and search for a job. However, one night she attended a bar in Arlington, Virginia, close to D.C., to watch a soccer match. Venezuela played against Chile in the Copa América, and she went with her only Venezuelan friend.
It was 2011. That night she met Ali Arellano, a Venezuelan already established in the city, who had a side business selling Central American products to convenience stores catering to Latinos. They agreed to meet again to watch the next game, and Febres decided to partake, as she longed for this sense of community. Soon she discovered that Ali was not selling Venezuelan products yet, even when there was an untapped potential to cater to the diaspora she was a part of. They talked about working together. A week later, the pair started distributing queso guayanés, queso telita, queso de mano, and other typical Venezuelan dairy products to the markets Ali was already serving, but also to a group of Venezuelan people who were eager for a taste of home. Through word of mouth and social media, they established the beginning of a very loyal customer base that has followed them since.
What started as a friendship became in 2014 a partnership that spans four locations, a warehouse, and event catering services that have reached even the White House.
Fast forward over 10 years, they co-own Arepa Zone and Antojitos de Tu País, the most successful arepa business in the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia) area. Their success as Febres says, is rooted in providing the Venezuelan community with a sense of belonging through meaningful food and the pair’s hard work.
As soon as they started delivering their products door to door, the business was built and sustained by the then-small Venezuelan diaspora’s needs: to find the foods, ingredients, and “antojitos” that brought them joy away from home. These products, available in specific areas of Florida such as Miami, were not found in the DMV stores, so Arellano and Febres quickly realized their business’ potential.
Eventually, people who bought these products began to request full meals that were representative of our culture, not only to eat them themselves but also to share them with other foreigners and locals in the DMV.
The expansion of Venezuelan food is deeply linked to our growing presence in the United States, which nearly tripled since 2010, according to the Migration Policy Institute, precisely when Arepa Zone saw its biggest growth. After successfully selling their antojitos via door-to-door services, the pair acquired a food truck in 2014 that served arepas, cachapas, and tequeños, among other products. Apart from the small Venezuelan diaspora, their first customers were mostly college students, consultants, and multilateral organization workers from diverse backgrounds.
Back then, Febres would spend up to two minutes explaining what an arepa was, what it was made of, and what made it so special. Eventually, she had to adapt their menu to make it more “internationally friendly” by installing a “McDonald’s style” system. Every menu item had a number to facilitate people’s ordering process and not make them pronounce every name.
However, they quickly pivoted and understood that education was directly related to their mission: to provide meaningful food and connection through Venezuelan food, for Venezuelans and non-Venezuelans alike. It was a success. To this day, Gaby’s biggest shock and pride comes when people from very diverse backgrounds go into the store, order a reina pepiada or a cachapa with their “broken Spanish”, and bring other people from different cultures who quickly become arepa lovers. Once, they might have had a Venezuelan friend who brought them to the restaurant, but now they’re spreading the word of the arepa on their own.
Despite serving a diverse audience, Arepa Zone keeps expanding options for Venezuelans and being the default meeting point for celebrations and occasions within the Venezuelan community, such as Copa América and gatherings during the Venezuelan elections. When asked if her food has suffered any modifications due to the large international influence and their location, Gaby defaults to saying that they keep getting closer and closer to their roots by offering even more specific products, such as pan de jamón, mandocas, and pepitos. However, their customer base and the menu item’s biggest fans are not exclusively Venezuelan.
Since a few months ago, they have seen an uptick in the number of Venezuelans that line up outside their restaurants and now work as food delivery drivers after coming to the US under diverse circumstances. They also come in as patrons and enjoy the food as well.
As the Arepa Zone story began with a Copa América match, the Cup is just one of the many excuses patrons use to visit one of their four locations or the warehouse to enjoy a bite that makes them feel closer to home. Whether to celebrate a goal from La Vinotinto or mourn yet another electoral loss, now the arepa is also part of those moments as Venezuelans find and shape our identity in Washington D.C.
Homelessness in the D.C. region ticked up slightly from 2025 to 2026, according to a new report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Homelessness in the D.C. region ticked up slightly from 2025 to 2026, according to a new report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Christine Hong, chair of the council’s Homeless Services Committee and chief of services to End and Prevent Homelessness with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, presented the findings at the council’s Wednesday meeting.
The report centers on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s mandated point-in-time count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.
“This year, the count was conducted on Feb. 4. We had to postpone it one week due to the extreme cold and winter weather event that we experienced the week prior,” Hong said. “Although it’s an imperfect measure, it provides an important regional snapshot of homelessness on a single night.”
The D.C. region reported 9,790 total people experiencing homelessness, an increase of 131 people or about 1% from 2025. The year-over-year regional change was modest. This count is closer in line to the 2019 number, before the pandemic.
“The regional story is that homelessness fell during the pandemic era, a period when expanded federal resources and emergency protections were in place, and then increased after those temporary supports ended,” Hong said. “The main takeaway is that regional homelessness is no longer increasing at the pace seen in 2023 and 2024, and is in line with the years immediately preceding the pandemic.”
Results varied by jurisdiction.
D.C. had the largest numerical increase, with 225 additional people counted. Prince George’s County, Maryland, had 175 additional people counted, a 29% increase. Montgomery County saw the largest decrease, down by 390 people or 26%. Hong pointed to the county’s investment in short-term housing.
“Montgomery County also spent a great deal to expand emergency shelter for families, because we are committed to ensuring no family with children would sleep outside even one night,” she said.
The count also included detailed information on race, veterans and household types.
“The broader evidence is clear, and is referenced in the report, that housing costs and the cost of living are major drivers of homelessness risk, especially for families with low income,” Hong said. “In practical terms, this means family homelessness is closely tied to whether low-income families can find and maintain housing.”
Read the full report here.
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WASHINGTON – The D.C. police lieutenant arrested in a Chris Hansen sting operation is due in court Wednesday.
Lt. Matthew Mahl is accused of soliciting sex with a minor. FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick reports that Mahl was charged with felony solicitation of a minor. A status hearing Wednesday morning suggests the case could be paused, not prosecuted or dismissed, though the reason remains unclear.
DC police lieutenant arrested in child exploitation investigation tied to Chris Hansen sting
Mahl was one of several people arrested in April as part of an online sting for Hansen’s show “Takedown,” which he describes as a predator investigative series. Hansen’s team, working with members of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, set up a “sting house” where targets were lured to an address believing they were meeting a juvenile for sex.
Mahl did not enter the sting house. Instead, he was taken out of his vehicle on the street and arrested. He did not answer questions during the post‑arrest interview.
Hansen’s earlier program, “To Catch a Predator,” drew controversy over its tactics, which critics said ruined lives and careers before cases reached court. Others praised the shows for removing alleged child predators from the streets.
Mahl is on administrative leave and has had his police powers revoked. The D.C. police department is conducting its own internal investigation.
The Source: This article was written using information from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and and previous FOX 5 reporting.
Washington, D.C
Billionaire Dan Snyder to List Mansion on George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate for $49.9 Million
Billionaire Dan Snyder is putting his Virginia mansion that stands on George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate back on the market, with plans to list it next week for $49.9 million.
It’s a more than $10 million price cut on the Alexandria property, which was asking $60 million when it was first listed in 2024. Even with the price reduction, the home, which is 13 miles south of the nation’s capital, remains the most expensive listing in the entire Washington, D.C., area.
The price change is a signal the owners are serious about selling, said listing agent Michael Sobhi of the Sobhi Group. “The right buyer for a property like this is tracking the market closely, and a sharp, confident repositioning tells them the seller is serious and the opportunity is real,” he added.
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It’s the first time Sobhi’s taking the property to market, as it was previously listed with a different brokerage.
Snyder, 61, bought the 16.5-acre estate in 2021 for $48 million, records with PropertyShark show, setting a D.C.-area price record. He bought it from Robert Stevens, the former chairman and CEO of the global defense contractor Lockheed Martin, Mansion Global reported at the time of the deal.
This isn’t the first D.C.-area megamansion the former Washington Commanders owner has tried to sell in the past few years.
Farther north on the other side of the Potomac River in Maryland, Snyder built a French chateau-style home on about 15 acres in 2004. He listed the property for sale in 2023 for $49 million, and after failing to find a buyer after a year on the market, he donated the property to the American Cancer Society, Mansion Global previously reported. The nonprofit sold the home at auction last year for $11.84 million.
The 16,000-square-foot Alexandria home is perched along the riverbank of the Potomac, allowing for both a picturesque setting and convenience—the estate has a private dock, giving the owner access to D.C. and other Northern Virginia waterfront destinations by boat. It occupies the largest privately-owned portion of the land that made up Washington’s estate, according to the listing.
Though built in the Federal style, the four-level mansion doesn’t date to Washington’s era—it was built in 2018. It has eight bedrooms and 15 bathrooms, and nearly every room in the house takes in views of the river.
MORE: Walmart’s Arkansas Hometown Is at the Center of an Emerging Luxury-Home Hot Spot
“There’s simply nothing else that offers this level of seclusion and waterfront living at this scale so close to the center of power in Washington,” Sobhi said.
Amenities range from an entertainment level with a full bar and a billiards table to a fitness center with a spa that includes a steam room, an infrared sauna and a resistance pool. There’s also a 15-seat theater, which Snyder upgraded with a 15-foot by 9-foot Stewart screen and “a fully DCI-compliant system that rivals a commercial cinema experience,” Sobhi said.
Additional structures include a 2,600-square-foot guest house with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, and a carriage house with four garage bays and a studio apartment.
Mansion Global Boutique: Set a Spring-Themed Table
On the grounds, there’s an English-style boxwood garden, recreated based on original Mount Vernon plans.
Snyder, who, according to Forbes, has a net worth of $4.7 billion, couldn’t be reached for comment.
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