Author Archives: Topher

I’m signing off for the year! Have a happy holiday and see you in 2025!

This week the Georgetown Metropolitan turns 16! Way back on December 13, 2008 I started this website. At the time there were dozens of neighborhood blogs around and I thought Georgetown should have one too. My first goal with the site was to push back on the stereotypes about Georgetowners and document how we’re all (well most of us) pretty normal people living normal lives with the same sorts of ups and downs that are common across the city. I hope I’ve succeeded on that front. (I mean if I haven’t succeeded after sixteen years, then I’ve not much hope getting it right moving forward!)

I’m not going to lie. Sometimes it’s a chore to keep this going. But then I’ll get hit with inspiration and do things like write a 3,000 word essay tying the fight over a bagel shop to a century-plus story of commerce and zoning. It’s days like that that I’m so grateful to have this platform. And so as this site heads off to driver’s ed, I still look forward to years more of publishing this little hobby of mine.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• More on the Wawa closure.
• JFK and Jackie’s first home together if for sale again.

A caviar concept is coming (a Caspian caviar concept no less). It is moving into one of the storefronts below the Safeway. The store is called Baku Caviar and its coming here all the way from Azerbaijan.

What’s particularly interesting is that the store is also seeking a tavern license to sell alcohol. The license application is seeking space for ten with seating for six. So it would appear you will be able to eat the caviar right there in the shop with a side of vodka.

The store, which touts its committment to sustainability, appears to primarily sell its caviar by mail. As far as I can tell, this would be the second boutique in the world for the store. The first is in its namesake city, Baku (a name familiar to F1 fans).

In all honesty, I’m not sure this location will be great for attracting people interested in living the caviar lifestyle, in-store at least. Perhaps a location close to the Azerbaijan embassy on Potomac would be better? In either event, I wish them good luck and I hope the area caviar fans come out for them.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Chemical leak near Georgetown dorm last night.
• Write-up for our last ANC meeting.

The annual Volta Park Breakfast With Santa returns this Saturday at the park playground from 10am to 12pm. Enjoy donuts and coffee with your neighbors and get your photo with Santa ($15). All proceeds go to Friends of Volta Park to help keep the park in beautiful shape!

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown Main Streets is selling a really cool Christmas ornament in the shape of the Georgetown Theater.
• Speaking of Main Streets, they celebrated their second annual tree lighting last week.

The Georgetown Wawa is set to close by the end of the month. This is according to employees at the store that have told me and others that the last day of business for the store is December 16th. I was told that “financial reasons” drove the closure. Another resident was told that the landlord was jacking up the rent.

Employees have stated that the company is reassigning them to other stores. However the employee I spoke with lamented the timing for the change, with it being right in the middle of the holiday season.

The store opened only six years ago. If a rent increase is truly the reason, I would be surprised. You would think a tenant like Wawa would have secured a longer lease term, or at least would have negotiated a favorable option to renew the lease if it is actually nearing the end of its term. I don’t go there too often, but when I do it seems fairly busy, which also makes the decision to close hard to fathom.

I was hardly in favor of the store opening when it was first announced. It seemed like a step backward for the neighborhood. But after it actually opened, I quickly grew to see its merits and realized I was wrong to lament its arrival. It offered relatively cheap food and snacks in a neighborhood increasingly lacking in options for that. It was particularly popular with construction workers and other laborers who are in abundance around Georgetown, especially during the day. It was kept clean and in good order and was certainly a step above the 7-Eleven, which closed shortly after the Wawa opened. Six years ago I’d be surprised to hear myself say this: but it will be greatly missed.

Before the Wawa this building hosted a Restoration Hardware for many years. But before that it was the location of the Key movie theater and a Roy Rogers:

No word yet on what will replace the Wawa.

Photo by Victoria Pickering.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• C. Boyden Gray’s former house finds a buyer.
• Speaking of real estate, here a peek inside an esteemed Hugh Jacobsen home.

For the holiday season, the Georgetown BID is introducing a new exciting event: the Georgetown Jingle. While I was hoping this would be a tribute to the classic Conan O’Brien sketches where an Arnold Schwartzenegger constantly steers the conversation back to his classic film Jingle All the Way, it turns out that’s not what’s on tap. Which is probably for the better.

What they are actually putting on is an ambitious festive event featuring live music and special discounts and food a dozens of shops around the neighborhood. Check out the map of participating stores!

It will take place this Saturday from 1pm tp 4pm and there will be a special event at 5:30 pm at the House of Sweden where a St. Lucia Choir will proceed from the embassy to the Georgetown Harbour.

Should add up to a wonderfully festive day, even if Arnold doesn’t show up….