The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• In case you missed it: the long delayed Key Bridge Exxon condos is moving forward again.
• More on the new Google store.

As I mention just about monthly, the Old Georgetown Board permit submissions are often the best way to find out what stores are on the horizon for Georgetown. This month is no exception, although the catch is a bit light.

The first is Huckberry at 1239 Wisconsin Ave. This space has been vacant since Sleep Number mattresses moved out. I first reported this back in October, when it first appeared in the OGB materials. This is just verification, I guess.

(Quick inside baseball aside: applications for OGB approval have two stages: concept and permit. It’s just as it sounds. The first round is about approving a general design concept. The second round is about refining the details and getting final sign off.)

Next up is the Google Store coming to 3235 M St. This is another store I’ve already reported on, but I don’t think I had the renderings last time. Despite Google’s normal bright, primary color design scheme, the store is pretty dour looking. I’d joke about how this is a store where you walk in and do web searches, but I did that last time. And it wasn’t really that funny then either.

And that’s it, at least on the store front. The Key Bridge Exxon condo project getting rebooted is a much bigger story.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Giving transit in Georgetown a chance.
• The NHL is going to put a plaque down by the Washington Harbour to celebrate the time the Capitals got extremely drunk and celebrating winning the Stanley Cup in the fountain.

Please check out this fabulous new documentary created by Howard University TV. It features excellent interviews from bedrocks of the Georgetown black community including Monica Roache, Vernon Ricks, Neville Waters, and others. Stream it above or from here. Enjoy!

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• I don’t know about you, but DPW did not come and take my trash yesterday, as the city said it would. I guess they’ll come today…
• Exxon site condos moving forward again?

Photo by Jeremy Keith.

I got some troubles, but they won’t last
I’m gonna lay right down here in the grass
And pretty soon all my troubles will pass
‘Cause I’m in soo-soo-soo, soo-soo-soo
Soo-soo, soo-soo, soo-soo Sushi Town

Those aren’t exactly the lyrics that Nancy Sinatra sung in 1966, but they could be what she’d sing today about Georgetown. You may not have realized it, but we’ve quietly become quite the sushi spot in recent years.

This conclusion hit me the other day as I was learning more about the forthcoming restaurant at 1608 Wisconsin Ave. As I reported last week, the new restaurant, Koryouri Urara, will be Japanese. But I’ve since learned that it will specifically be a sushi spot specializing in Omakase. This refers to a style of sushi where the chef decides what to serve you. Generally it takes place at the counter, with the chef in front of you completing the meal for eyes and well as your stomach. It is generally a meal heightened in duration, quality, and cost.

Once it opens, it will join a raft of other sushi restaurants in Georgetown:

Blue Fin: This small shop along the canal towpath has been around the longest. It opened in 1996 and continues to serve great sushi in a quintessentially Georgetown locale.

Susheria: This spot on K St. has also been open for a while (especially if you give it credit for the years it was the fairly identical Mate). It has always had a bit of a dance club vibe, but plenty of people like that.

Georgetown Sushi and Poke: This spot is at Washington Harbour. I think they opened in the last couple years.

Khin’s Sushi: This spot is on Wisconsin just south of M. It opened in the former Ban Doo La Bowl a few years ago as well.

Kyojin Sushi: This fancier spot opened in 2023 in the former L2 lounge along Cady’s Alley.

Two Nine: Another omakase restaurant is coming soon to Georgetown. This one will occupy the new construction on the backside of 1218 31st St. along Congress Court. It should be open soon.

So once they’re all open, that will be seven different sushi restaurants in Georgetown. And that’s not even counting places like Mai Thai that offer sushi on the menu. Some aim for the affordable lunch crowd and others aim for a more elaborate experience (and your wallet). Altogether, that’s surely enough to make all your troubles pass. So hop in your balloon and head to Sushi Town

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Due to the expected snow later this week, trash will be picked up today. It is not clear whether recycling/trash will slide a day to Saturday due to the snow, but I’ll let you know as soon as I hear.
• Celebrating Black history at Duke Ellington school.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, I take a look at another image from the DC Historical Society. It is an picture of an oil painting that is entitled “Georgetown Rowhouses in Snow (Wisconsin Avenue And 34th Street)”. It is from 1949 and the artist is identified as Peder Kitti.

A lot surely has changed since 1949, but not so much that I think this is actually depicting 34th and Wisconsin. It is much more likely to be 33rd and Wisconsin. (If you’re wondering if actually maybe 34th and Wisconsin looked like this in 1949, the answer is almost certainly not. This is what that intersection looked like from above in 1951:

That said, the painting isn’t really a perfectly accurate depiction of 33rd and Wisconsin either. The large window on the left is correct. And the next couple buildings to the left match. But the right side of the row doesn’t really reflect the actual buildings. The painting seems to have a corner entrance that doesn’t exist. The building that houses A Mano isn’t quite right either.

But overall I think this is meant to be 33rd. And that leads me to wonder if that large beautiful tree also stood there. I think the answer is yes. This is that intersection in 1951:

As with so many photos of Georgetown in the mid 20th century, the trees look so much larger and healthier than they do today. This section of Wisconsin Ave. was completely covered by the tree canopy! That’s remarkable. Compare that to today:

It does appear from the historic shot that there was one very large tree right at the corner.

It looks like the tree lasted a while longer. Here’s a photo of the African Union Embassy in 1961, when it was the West Georgetown School. You can see a large tree creeping in on the right:

Looking through the historical satelite photos, it appears the foliage really started to take a beating in the 1980s. That’s pretty consistent with a story of a city running out of cash and an environment getting hotter. The latter of which, of course, will eventually mean the painting’s snowy scene will also become nothing but a memory.

Photo by Joe Flood.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Yates basketball courts reopen.
• Former ANC commissioner reflects on his time on the ANC.

The Georgetown BID is working towards developing a new model of streateries that would have the potential to significantly improve the look and function of the streetscape, while also helping to address some of the most frequent complaints. As described at the December ANC, the organization is moving towards instituting a pilot along Wisconsin Ave. to try out this new model. While the details are still being worked out, and I have no specific images or schematics to share, I can share generally what the model would be and why it would be such an improvement.

With a few notable exceptions, the main streatery model in Georgetown involves what you see above. Namely, there is a faux-wood decking that extends the sidewalk at grade into the street and a large Jersey barrier surrounds the extension. Moreover, the “use” of the streatery takes place on the streatery itself; i.e. the dining tables, or seating, or bike parking, etc., happens on the decking, not the sidewalk.

Several elements of this design have drawn the bulk of the complaints surrounding streateries. First, the Jersey barriers have drawn the most complaints. Even those who like the Streateries do not generally like the look of the barriers. Second, the faux-wood decking also draws complaints, either due to them being damaged or due to their plasticy appearance. Finally, some have also complained about the restaurant tables being across the sidewalk from the restaurants themselves.

The new model would address all those complaints.

I have no images to share, but let me describe in words how this new design would appear. First, instead of the faux-wood decking, the extension would utilize brick or granite elements to be consistent with the appearance of the sidewalks themselves. Second, the Jersey barriers would be replaced with bollards with a historic look (like what you see around the White House). Finally, the restaurant tables and chairs would be pulled against the building itself. (This is the approach for Yellow and Lutece and I think it has been successful.)

In the end, they wouldn’t technically be “streateries” anymore. They’d be normal sidewalk cafe’s with a more pleasant sidewalk extension next to it.

This is all easy to describe with a few sentences, but the logistics are extremely more complicated. Stormwater needs to be managed. Utilities need to be accessible. The bollards need to be removable. And on and on. Those are the details that the BID and its contractor are working through. But I am hopeful that they will get there.

The plan is to try out this model as a pilot at a couple places on Wisconsin, namely the area around Wisconsin and O. This location has a number of restaurants (and restaurants to be) and would be the perfect spot to demonstrate how Streateries 2.0 could work.

Like I said, there is still a lot of work before the plan can even be formally presented, let alone constructed. With luck, we will be able to see the work later this year, but in either event, I wanted people to know that a better model is coming.