The Georgetown Metropolitan

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• New Georgetown retail leasing dominated by small spaces.
• I’ve posted these before, but it’s always fascinating to see these old shots of kids playing in the street in Georgetown in the 1930s.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, I’ve dug up an Ebay find. It’s a postcard showing a pencil drawing of Dumbarton St./Ave., just west of Wisconsin Ave.

The date of the card or the drawing itself is not readily apparent from the listing. The back of the card isn’t that helpful either:

The fact that the card calls the street Dumbarton Ave. instead of Dumbarton St., suggests it’s a bit old. But the distinction between avenue and street was pretty muddy for a long time for Dumbarton. (In short, it was once an avenue, was renamed a street, but lots of people kept calling it an avenue. That usage, however, seems to have petered out mostly by the 1970s.) So my first guess would be mid 20th century for the card.

Of course there are more clues. Most obviously the drawing features a bookstore at 3148 Dumbarton. It appears to be called Sorel’s Books. I figured the name would pop-up right away in an old newspaper search, but sadly there is not a single mention of it in either the Post’s or the Washington Star’s archives.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Calvin Caffritz passes away.
• Sign up for the Georgetown Main Streets monthly newsletter to get the latest on shops along the corridor and Takeout Tuesday.

3200 block of Volta Place

Hyde Addison’s PTA has teamed up with Georgetown’s 1310 Kitchen & Bar (chef Jenn Crovato) for a charity Pot-Pie-athon! 25% of all sales go to Hyde, to cover school needs beyond the basics provided to the school from its budget from the city. 

Sales run online today through Feb. 6. You schedule your pickup from Feb. 13 to Feb. 15 at 1310 Kitchen & Bar (located at 1310 Wisconsin Avenue NW and around the corner from Hyde).

Use this link to submit your order and the restaurant will follow up with an invoice: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfYq3pZ9rkXZtou_wnzQE4OeF0WOeRHATwx9psl6aF2FruVAg/viewform

Stock your freezer with a wide-selection of locally-made comfort food while supporting Hyde-Addison Elementary! 

 Items include: Chicken Pot Pie | Spring Vegetable Pot Pie | Mac & Cheese | Penne with Lamb Ragu | Eggplant Parmesan | Zucchini Lasagna | Chicken Enchiladas | Egg Enchiladas | Moussaka | Shakshuka Starter! 

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown dominated the top home sales in the DC area last year.
• Coverage of our first ANC meeting of the year.

Looks like we might have another Georgetown Cupcake on our hands. The new cafe Yellow has been open just a couple weeks and it’s already producing lines up the sidewalk.

The scene above was Saturday afternoon. And to be fair, it has not been quite this mobbed every day. But it’s obviously hit a great sweet spot! Clearly the demand for tasty food and drinks is still well in excess of the supply. Let’s hope it inspires more places to open nearby. (I’m particularly thinking about the former Via Umbria across the street, which has been vacant since the Officina pop-up left.)

Success brings challenges, such as keeping the sidewalk clear. But it’s a good sort of problem to have.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• A liquor license was applied for by a new sushi spot coming to Cady’s Alley.
• Student alleges hate crime at GU.

Signage on 3333 M St. announces that District Donut is planning to re-open a Georgetown location at that spot. No information on timeframe, but I can’t imagine it will take too long, since their operation is pretty simple.

Sweets lovers will remember that the donut shop was tucked away on Cady’s Alley for years. It was a classic Eastbanc style pop-up, in that it was described as a pop-up when it opened but remained open way past what you’d consider normal for a pop-up. But the tough location and the pandemic finally popped the pop-up last year.

But happiness returns with this new location on a much more busy street.

3000 block of R St.