Business Ins & Outs: Billy Hicks, Marine Layer, Sweaty Betty
By • October 21, 2024 0 1168
In: Billy Hicks to Open Wednesday
The friendly Billy Hicks is opening at the corner of M and Potomac Streets. Photo by Bill Starrels.
Yes, Brat Pack nostalgia is real. Billy Hicks restaurant will make its debut at the lively corner of M and Potomac Streets on Oct. 23 — and plans to be a youthful place to meet as well as dine.
The space, part of the Eton Court complex, has been empty for years and formerly housed Capitol Prague Restaurant and, before that, Morso Restaurant. The new restaurant at 3277 M St. NW looks and feels like a keeper.
Some made recall the 1985 Georgetown-centric film, “St. Elmo’s Fire,” and the character Billy Hicks, played by Rob Lowe. The restaurant’s chairs are the same kind seen in the the film. Framed photos in the space display college yearbook photos from Georgetown, George Washington, American and Howard.
In: Sweaty Betty Opens on Nov. 15
Sweat Betty — “a global activewear and lifestyle brand for women” — will open at 3251 M St. NW, where Nisolo shoes used to be.
Founded by Tamara Hill-Norton in Notting Hill in 1998, the business is named after a song by a British punk band and plans to open Nov. 15.
The company tells us: “We’re also a community that believes fitness is a flip-the-switch trigger for becoming the woman you want to be. Leggings and sports bras won’t change the world on their own. But with a grab-my-hand, let’s-go-for-it-now spirit, the women who wear them can.”
As of May 2022, there are 47 Sweaty Betty boutiques and 14 department store concessions in the United Kingdom. There are also 49 department store concessions in the U.S., and 17 boutiques and department store concessions in Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland and Singapore.
Moved: Marine Layer
Marine Layer moved to 3213 M St. NW. Courtesy Marine Layer.
Marine Layer, a San Francisco clothing store named for an air mass that forms over water (such as San Francisco Bay) due to a temperature inversion, has moved to 3213 M St. NW from its opening spot across the street. “The fabric of their tees, sweaters and jackets is as soft, one trusts, as Potomac fog,” we first reported.
Coming: It’s a Secret Med Spa
Secret Med Spa is at 1365 Wisconsin Ave. NW in the old BB&T space. Georgetowner photo.
A skincare medical spa is being constructed at 1365 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The corner building previously housed a BB&T Bank. (But don’t tell anybody.)
With 14 locations in Texas, Arizona and Chicago, It’s a Secret Med Spa confides: “Our med spa in Georgetown is committed to creating a sanctuary of relaxation and renewal, featuring an array of treatments tailored to restore balance and enhance well-being. Here, we invite you to experience a harmonious fusion of luxury and care, right in the heart of this historic neighborhood.”
Coming: Huckberry
A men’s apparel retailer will replace the departed Sleep Number mattress store at 1239 Wisconsin Ave. NW.
“The company only has three other stores in the U.S.,” reports Urban Turf. “Some of those locations are pop-ups rather than permanent storefronts. So, it will be interesting to see what the plan is for the D.C. outpost.”
