The Georgetown Metropolitan

A good blow of snow is in the forecast for this Friday. And if it is strong enough, you might be looking for a place to sled. But if you’re new to town, you might not know the best sledding hills. GM will help you out (at least for areas in and around Georgetown).

Probably the best location in Georgetown proper is the hill off the north side of Montrose Park (seen above). It’s fairly steep. The only tricky part is avoiding the giant tulip poplar that stands at the bottom of the hill. Steering ability is a must here.

The hill off of Reservoir Rd. just west of Georgetown Hospital also gets some use on snowy days. It’s not nearly as steep as the Montrose Park hill, but it’s much longer (if you can get your speed up). Continue reading →

Photo by Ehpien.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Zannchi, which is replacing Yummi Crawfish, is apparently Korean.
• GM missed this, but Dianne Rehm is coming to the Q & A Cafe in February.

3200 block of N St.

In the process of drafting the Georgetown 2028 report, the committee (on which GM served) was presented with data that demonstrated that despite the fact that the “millennials” were still relatively early in their careers, they carried huge buying power. And while Georgetown has always had some intrinsic appeal to younger generations, attracting this particular cohort is a particular challenge for Georgetown, especially considering how much competition for their dollars is sprouting up around town.

And don’t look now, but a mini-hub of stores and restaurants that practically screams “millennial bait” has sprung up in lower Georgetown. And in this case it appears that millennial women will be the primary target. Continue reading →

Photo by Marc DUPUY.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The Georgetown story behind those Scout bags.
• GM walked by Baked and Wired Saturday night and there was a line at least fifty feet out the door. Basically it’s become Georgetown Cupcake.

3200 block of M St.

After 10+ years in Georgetown, the Five Guys is closing this Sunday. GM has heard rumors of this impending closure for at least a year, and the rumors picked up a lot more in the last couple days as the employees started informing the customers.

GM spoke with one of the employees who said that he believed that the lease was up and that the company was making a business decision to close. He (rightly) complained that the company, which more than likely has known about the closure for a long time, only informed its employees last week. He also said that they were all being let go and the company was making no attempt to find them positions at the millions of other Five Guy locations around DC. Booooo. Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Two of the three top Major League Soccer draftees are Hoyas.
• Robert Taft’s house is for sale.

1400 block of 31st St.

Another item GM missed while he was taking his holiday break is that the liquor license moratorium appears to be on the way out.

After the initial agreement between the BID, the ANC, and the Citizens Association failed to get endorsed as written back in December, it appeared that all that remained was some last minute haggling before a final agreement could be reached. But the whole arrangement could have just as easily fallen apart. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and a modified agreement between the parties was struck and subsequently endorsed by vote. (Full disclosure: GM is on the board of CAG, but was not involved directly in the negotiations and was even out of town when the board voted yes.)

All that remains now is for the ABC board to accept the agreement and end the moratorium. Continue reading →