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.
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!
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:
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….
Hello, and welcome to your Northwest Georgetown December ANC update! Happy holidays!
Leaf Collection
Before we get to winter, we need to clean up from the fall. And the city is still working through its annual leaf collection. The city is currently working through “zone c”, which includes east Georgetown. West Georgetown (i.e. homes west of Wisconsin Ave.) is in “zone d” and will be next. This is the first pass. There will be a second pass later.
When you receive notice that DPW is coming, the guidance is to pile the leaves out front. We received some mixed guidance on whether you could bag the leaves. If you have bagged them, it’s probably ok, but it’s probably safer to just pile them up.
If you have bagged garden waste that needs to be picked up, remember that you still need to place a request through 311. Due to it being leaf collection season, there is likely to be a delay between your request and the target pick up date. So it might help to plan ahead if you don’t want to keep the bags around.
Volta Park Update
Looking back to my update a year ago, I described the planned renovation for Volta Park. I was hopeful the work would get done last winter. Those hopes were dashed. Over and over again. Most recently I heard possibly a November start. That obviously didn’t happen. Repeated requests to DPW have received no firm answers, so I won’t make any promises to you when it might happen. Or, frankly, if it will happen. I’ve not heard any hints that the project was scotched, but obviously DC is facing a tight budget environment, so I would not be surprised if it delay is being driven by money concerns. If I finally hear anything concrete, or even semi-concrete, I will pass it on.
AT&T Construction
Two weeks ago, blocks around 33rd between Volta and Q were subject to a disruptive construction without much notice. The no parking signs covered several blocks around and listed a ridiculous 30 day time frame. As the work began, it was clear that it involved digging a new trench from (at least) Volta up to Q on 33rd. This was particularly galling since this stretch of road was only just paved last year.
I dug into the permit and learned that AT&T was behind it. They are apparently laying cable for some sort of a business internet service. This only makes the aggravation worse, honestly, since our freshly paved street is getting torn up for a private company to make a buck selling a service that residents aren’t even likely to be eligible for.
I lodged a complaint with DDOT, who acknowledged that this was against the stated policy of requiring utility work to be completed prior to a street getting repaved. Sometimes things go “through the cracks” was the literal explanation.
What’s additionally annoying is that as part of the work, crews leave dozens of spray painted lines across the sidewalk and street (see above). This is required to alert the crews to sewer and gas lines, but the paint lasts far longer than needed. And, if course, these sidewalks were only just redone also within the last couple years.
I understand that this work is going to continue up 33rd this week. It is also being done on the other side of Georgetown by Thomas Jefferson St. I have reached out to AT&T to try to get a clear idea how much more of this destructive and disruptive construction we can expect. I will pass on what I hear.
Call Your Mother obtained the zoning relief is needed to remain open at 35th and O St. However opponents are likely to appeal the decision, so there is more likely to come for that story.
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
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