WASHINGTON — Despite fears of inflation and tariff-driven price hikes, consumer spending has been up this summer. One group of Black women-owned businesses in Petworth is working together to cash in.

Just one block of Upshur Street is home to Petworth Cigars, Flowers by Alexes, Elephant in My Room, and Cookie Wear — all owned by Black women.

"I've been here since I was 9 years old," Alexes Haggins said. "My father moved to the other end of the block, and that's where Flowers by Alexes was born, and we stayed there for many years after that. And about 20 years after my father passed away, I reopened the shop, and we've been here and doing really well since then."

Haggins, who owns Flowers by Alexes, partners with multiple other businesses in the neighborhood, offering up her nearby event

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