Some New Shops on the Horizon

The Old Georgetown Board agenda is always a great source of information for stores coming to the neighborhood. And with no meeting in August, the agenda for September is often chock full of new applicants. And this year is no different. Here is what’s in store:

Billy Hicks

This isn’t new, per se, because the restaurant itself was announced a while ago, but here is a look at what the new St. Elmo’s Fire-inspired restaurant will look like:

The existing building is not exactly the most attractive building on M St. (in fact, it’s possibly the exact most unattractive building on M St.) And I was afraid this project was basically lipstick on a pig. But by this design, at least, it looks like an actual improvement. We’ll see.

Lululemon

This is a slightly odd one. There is, of course, already a Lululemon in Georgetown at 3265 M St. And the company is applying to update the signage for this location:

But the company is also seeking approval for signage at a totally new location, 3077 M St. (the old Brooks Brothers space):

So I guess Lululemon is looking to double their footprint in Georgetown.

Warby Parker

Another existing store, Warby Parker, is also looking to either expand or move. There is an application to convert 3223 M St. into one of their shops:

The store is currently located next door. It’s unclear if they’re moving or expanding.

Arcteryx

This next one is a bit of a bummer but also genuinely funny. Arcteryx is coming to 3218 M St.:

The bummer is that this used to be J. Paul’s I knew long ago that the beautiful historic bar was long gone, but I held out vain hope that some sort of a similar restaurant would return. Alas.

What’s funny, though is this. When Arcteryx first came to DC, they chose City Center. At the time, they’re broker gave a pretty snide comment about Georgetown:

Edward Goldmeier of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank helped broker the deal. He told Washington Business Journal that, “with no disrespect to T.J. Maxx … when that starts to be the big face in Georgetown as opposed to what was originally proposed as a Bloomingdale’s, it does affect an outsider’s view of what’s going on there.”

Well T.J. Maxx is still here and just down the block from Arcteryx’s new location. I guess that’s not so bad for them afterall…

Hunter and Huntress

Something called Hunter and Huntress appears to be coming to 1665 Wisconsin Ave. Most recently this was the location of an unlicensed pot shop, but for many years it was home to the well loved Bean Counter coffee and sandwich shop.

I believe the new establishment will be an interior decorating firm.

Framebridge

Framebridge, the DTC framing company, has grown leaps and bounds since it was founded ten years ago. It’s actually got Georgetown roots. In its early days, its design offices were located on O St. And now it looks to be returning to those roots by opening its first retail location in the neighborhood, namely 1506 Wisconsin Ave:

It’s a Secret

Something called It’s a Secret is coming to the former bank building at Wisconsin and O. It appears to be some sort of a “medical salon”, which I believe is just a place that will give you IV drips:

Brasero & Floreria Atlantico

And finally, some sort of a restaurant is coming to 1066 Wisconsin Ave:

It will be called Brasero & Floreria Atlantico