The Georgetown Metropolitan

Yesterday ABRA announced that the four Georgetown liquor licenses have been claimed. GM has received an unverified (but reliable) tip as to who claimed them. And while it isn’t as bad as he expected it still demonstrates that the moratorium remains a problem for attracting new restaurants.

So who got the licenses?

• The Georgetown AMC
• Lady Camelia Tea Room
• Chaia Tacos
• Unnamed Greek restaurant on Prospect

Here’s GM’s take on each:

It’s unclear why the theater needs this liquor license. It’s in the same building as the Ritz Carlton, and hotels are not subject to the moratorium. Even if it’s not covered by the hotel exemption, it ought to be. Either way, this license is obviously not going to result in a new restaurant.

Lady Camelia is a successful tea room from the team that had less luck opening Macaron Bee on Book Hill. Now the stores are essentially merged, and finger foods are offered with the tea. It would appear that they also want to offer liquor (mimosas?), which sounds like a good idea. But if that’s true then it still means that this license isn’t producing a new restaurant.

Chaia tacos is not even open yet. They are moving into the old woodshop on Grace St. GM’s had their tacos before, and they’re amazing. We’re lucky they’ve decided to open here. But again, they were already going to open without the license. So again, it’s not like this license is inducing a new restaurant to open. Continue reading →

Photo by Brendan Ross.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The four liquor licenses were snatched up, GM has more on that later.
• Not news to many, but Georgetown is a good place for desserts.

1000 block of 34th St.

The flyer doesn’t say it, but MPD Chief Lanier will attend this public safety meeting tonight. So come on out and learn what’s being done and what else can be done to keep you safe!

Photo by BeyondDC.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• If Visitation sponsored the Fort Reno concerts, who would play? (GM thinks the obvious answer is Shane MacGowen and the Popes).
• Start-up, Georgetown-style.

3300 block of P St.

In April, GM noticed that a new liquor store was coming in to replace Wagners. It’s name: Hop, Cask and Barrel.

This slightly fancy sounding name sounding promising to GM, but it wasn’t until last weekend that he had a chance to stop by. And his first impression is generally good. It certainly exceeds the last incarnation of Wagner’s, but that’s would be a pretty low standard. More to the point, for liquor it appears roughly on par with (if not slightly superior to) Wagner’s circa 2009. GM is basically useless when it come to evaluating the wine selection. Based upon numbers alone it seemed ok(?) Continue reading →

Photo by BKL.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• A big maple fell down on 34th St. But oddly before last night’s storm.
• A North Carolina man was found dead floating by the waterfront.

3200 block of P St.

Last year, Eastbanc bought the gas station property at the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave. and M St. The developer hired premier Portgugese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. And here is what he designed for the site.

Lots of brick, eh?

Frankly this is a bit of a disappointment for GM. Anthony Lanier has cautioned the community to be open-minded to the design. That led GM to believe Souto de Moura had something more radical planned. Something more like this house he designed:

Continue reading →