The Georgetown Metropolitan

It was always going to be a challenge to run a successful restaurant on P St. far from the commercial corridors. So it should not come as a surprise that the After Peacock Room has recently folded. Unlike previous closures, this one is permanent.

After Peacock Room opened originally in the summer of 2014. Its original concept seemed to be roughly that of a tea house, with small finger-food also offered. After remaining open only a few months, it closed and retooled into a full sit down restaurant.

Although the rapid change of business plan raised some red flags, after the reopening, things seemed to be going well. The interior (inspired by Whistler’s Peacock Room) was sleek and an improbably raving review from Tom Sietsema seemed to announce a bright future for the restaurant.

Things seemed to continue to go well for the restaurant through the first half of 2015. But then it closed down for all of August. Maybe it was just a summer vacation, but it raised those same red flags again. Continue reading →

Photo by Joe Flood.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Liquor license moratorium officially dead.
• There were no sidewalk expansions this weekend due to the weather. They will resume next weekend.

3600 block of Prospect St.

Photo by Guillermo Fdez.

Last year, GM got a tip from a very reliable source that the fancy French pastry shop, Laduree, would be opening at 3060 M St. People got really excited about this idea, and while the company announced they were planning to come DC, they didn’t say where exactly. Not much seemed to happen at 3060 M St. for a long time, but a permit now in the window practically confirms that the store is coming.

The permit is for interior demolition and it has been issued to Bertrand De Soutrait at 124 Rue de Faubourg, Saint Honore in Paris. Monsieur De Soutrait just happens to be the name of the President of Bertwood Realty, which has announced that it’s been the agent on the opening of two new Laduree stores. Continue reading →

Photo by Gabriel de Andrade Fernandes.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Bangkok Joe’s reopen now.
• An interesting collection of stuff available at a pop-up in the Mall right now.

Dumbarton Oaks

Have you ever wanted to own a restaurant but didn’t know where to start to open one? Well you can skip the opening part and go straight to owning a restaurant by simply buying an existing one. And it turns out several restaurants in Georgetown are yours for the right price.

BizBuySell is a website that lists businesses that are for sale. GM got the idea to search for establishments in Georgetown from Borderstan, which did the same for Dupont. (Which itself got the idea from ARLnow.) Four Georgetown restaurants came up, check them out:

Unnamed Sushi Restaurant – $880,000

None of the restaurants on the list identify which specific restaurant is for sale, but it’s easy to make an educated guess. From the description, it would appear to be Hashi Sushi:

Established (15 years), profitable Sushi Restaurant available For Sale in Georgetown, Washington, DC. Prime location! 2,400 square feet can accommodate 111 seats. Liquor license allowed liquor sale up to 2 am daily. Gross sale above a million . Owners relocated out of state and needs to sell. Might get bank financing.

The restaurant claims to have gross income of $1,060,000 a year with a net of $324,000.

Unnamed Sushi Takeout Restaurant – $65,000

This one is also unnamed, but it almost definitely Sushi-to-Go:

Facilities:  Business is located in C&O canal path in Georgetown, DC.

Competition: Simply a hidden gem. It may not be the most fancy spot or has the most fancy menu, but this place offer fresh and qualify food.

Growth & Expansion: Huge potential growth with extended business hours, and media marketing

Financing: None

Support & Training: Two weeks before and one week after settlement.

Reason for Selling: retiring

This restaurant claims a cash flow of $70,000.

Unnamed Mediterranean Restaurant – $875,000

Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Preview of the Georgetown House Tour.
• Jack the Bulldog lives in his own townhouse, with a caretaker.

Dumbarton Oaks

Starting last weekend, and running through the summer, the BID arranged for sidewalks along M St. between 33rd and Wisconsin to become temporarily wider. This is an expansion of a pilot they’ve tested several times in the past year. It’s great that they’ll be running it every weekend all summer long, but it should be seen only as a stepping stone for a broader sidewalk expansion plan.

When the BID first arranged for the pilot (seen in the video above) the idea to do something more was already percolating. So long as the pilots were successful, rolling it out more regularly was the goal. And because the pilots were successful, the BID was able to get approval to do just that. This summer program is the result. Continue reading →