The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by twofivesevenzero.

Every January, GM walks up and down the streets of Georgetown updating his database of the stores of Georgetown. He started this two years ago by simply scribbling down on a notepad every establishment on M and Wisconsin. Last year, working from an established list GM could take the time to expand the scope a little more and make sure to get all the stores on Wisconsin and M as well as those just off. Well this year GM went whole hog. He gathered a list of every single establishment in Georgetown. From Le Petite Corner Store to Jean Pierre to Tony and Joes to Jack’s Boathouse.

And what’s the grand total? (drum role) 527. That adds exactly 100 stores over last year’s tally (that doesn’t mean there are 100 new stores, of course, it just means GM counted 100 more. Some are new, some were just off GM’s scope last year).

Here’s how those numbers break down:

Independents Vs. Chains:

GM first started surveying stores in Georgetown to get a sense of just how many stores are independent and how many are chains. The first set of numbers surprised GM. Of the establishments on Wisconsin and M, 70% were independent. Last year’s survey found almost identical results.

As of today and including all establishments, the number is a tad higher: 73%. That makes sense, since a lot of the new stores that GM captured are off of the main drag and thus more likely to be independent.

Chains represent 26% of establishments. The last percentage or so are regional chains (e.g. Five Guys).

As he’s done in the past, this year GM again took at look at how those percentages look like when one considers only stores within one block of Wisconsin and M. Not surprisingly, the chain percentage goes up. However, as in past years, they still can’t crack 50%. Right now, chains make up only 41% of establishments within one block of M and Wisconsin. Continue reading →