The central part of my annual census of commercial establishments is to take a periodic snap shot of all stores that have opened or closed over the course of (roughly) a year. And as I discussed on Monday, this past year has been a busy one on the openings front. Here are all the new stores I counted:
It’s that time of year again, when people start to wonder what the hell are those giant grain brain-shaped fruit around Georgetown. As in past years, I am ready with the answer, as reprinted below:
This time a year, if you wonder around Montrose or Volta Parks you’re bound to find on the ground weird softball-sized green fruit like the one above. People are often so struck by the sight of the fruit, they pick up one or two of them and bring them home. But what are they, you ask?
Despite their green color, they’re oranges. Osage oranges, to be specific. They are grown by Osage trees, which line the Parrot rope walk. These trees are prevalent in the Great Plains states, where they are often planted along hedgerows. Traditionally, the pliable but strong nature of this tree’s wood made it valuable for fence posts and archery bows.
Technically speaking, the fruit is edible. But you can only eat the seeds, and they’re not easy to extract.
I heard once that people should not feel guilty about taking the fruit home since no animals eat them. I find that they rot after a month or so. But if you don’t want to keep them around, Amazon sells them for $39 for a dozen, maybe you can undersell them (besides being an interesting knick-knack, the fruit is believed to repel insects and spiders).
As alluded to in my monthly ANC update, I finally conducted my annual(ish) census of commercial establishments in Georgetown. It’s a survey I’ve been doing since I started this website in 2008, and so the accumulated data reflects the ebbs and flows of the Georgetown retail community. And the overall message from this year is that we are still in a steady flow following the stark ebb that Covid brought us.
But before I get to the numbers, I need to issue my typical disclaimer: First, it’s important to know that my counting is more of an art than a science. The term “establishments” as used here refers to just about all commercial establishments serving the general public: retail stores, restaurants, salons, gyms, etc. I don’t count pure office space. The rule of thumb I use is if you can walk in without an appointment, I count it. But again, sometimes it’s a close call (for instance, I count realtors but not lawyers). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Overall Picture
Last year was the first year I performed a count since before Covid. And the story of last year’s numbers was that it wasn’t as bad as expected! The overall number was down, obviously, but not that bad. In 2019 I counted 509 establishments, which was near a record high. Last year I counted 451. That’s about an 11% drop. Significant, but not catastrophic. This year the numbers inched up further. I counted 464 establishments this year. (And keep in mind that my count is very much a snapshot. Stores may be just days away from opening, but I don’t count them).
That net gain represents about a 3% gain. Behind that net gain I counted 62 openings and 45 closures. I’d call that strong and steady as you can see by comparing to the last ten years:
The public outreach portion of the highly important Georgetown Circulation and Access Study is underway right now. And a key component of it is the survey, which asks you a variety of questions about how you get to and about Georgetown. The answers will illuminate the decisions that the planners conducting the study will have to make. So please let your voice be heard.
For reasons I won’t bore you with, I’ve really gotten into the country rock musical genre recently, specifically the style of cosmic American music promoted by the legendary Gram Parsons in the early 1970s. In doing so I’ve learned about how the perfect pairing of Parsons and the great Emmylou Harris came to be on our own M St.
As recounted in a Washington Post article in 2015, in December 1971 Harris had a standing gig singing at Clyde’s. Word of her skill reached those around Parsons (who was looking for a singing partner). While he was on tour on the east coast he reached out to Harris from Baltimore. She agreed to meet him in Georgetown, and the rest is history:
Amused by her gumption, Parsons took the train to D.C. and met Harris at Clyde’s. It was pouring rain, and only five people showed up for her gig, two of them being Gram and his wife, Gretchen. Gram was so enthused, however, that he joined Harris in the basement amid the beer kegs to sing Hank Williams’s “I Saw the Light.” They sang it onstage during the second set, and Harris’s voice wrapped around Parsons’s as if they had rehearsed it for hours.
The duo became legendary for their harmonies. They recorded two critically acclaimed albums. Sadly the second was posthumous for Parsons, as he died of a drug overdose in Joshua Tree National Park just two years later. Harris went on to a highly successful career in her own right, but many still mourn the loss of such a brilliant and short lived partnership.
This is your Northwest Georgetown ANC Update for September! I hope you had a wonderful summer! While it was quiet in terms of official ANC news, things continued to percolate all summer long. Here’s what new and coming our way:
Streateries Progress
As I wrote back in June, the future of streateries and expanded sidewalks in Georgetown is in doubt. The BID’s permit covering them expires at the end of this calendar year, and as of this spring it was unclear whether the BID would be able to extend it. At that time, I queried the public about how they feel about the program and I received overwhelming support for it. Similarly the BID surveyed an even wider group and received the same message¹: While improvements and modifications are certainly necessary, the core of the plan is worth keeping.
Over the summer, the BID staff and members of the ANC have been in discussion about how to proceed with the program. Our goal is to keep the best parts of the program and search for solutions for concerns that we’ve heard. First on that list is aesthetics. Namely, can we do better than Jersey barriers and plastic decking? Additionally, looking for a way to better accommodate commercial deliveries without double-parking is crucial. Other concerns include evaluating underused extensions and incorporating the recommendations of the Circulation and Access Study currently underway. (More on that below).
In order to support the BID’s approach to the city for an extension, I plan on proposing a resolution at this week’s ANC meeting stating as much. If, as expected, the BID does submit an application for an extension, the ANC will then engage more specifically on the elements of that application, which will take place at a subsequent meeting. I am optimistic that this process will result in a preservation of the program with a clear goal of making tangible improvements moving forward.
Transportation Study
As mentioned above, the city is current conducting a wide-ranging circulation and access study for Georgetown. This will look at nearly all elements of transportation in Georgetown with the aim of increasing accessibility and safety for all.
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
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