Georgetown Bucks Trend; Gets New Shell Gas Station

It seems you can go home again, especially with your car. While other neighborhoods see their old-time gas and service stations close, Georgetown has added a new one — with top-notch auto repair technicians, to boot. The new Georgetown Shell Station at 1576 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., has opened at the familiar corner of Wisconsin and Q.

Along with Georgetown Exxon, across the street at 1601 Wisconsin Ave., NW, that corner may hold the last of the true full-service and auto repair stations on Wisconsin Avenue from the Potomac River up past the Beltway in Maryland. For Georgetowners, the convenience of two auto repair service stations in the middle of town is an unexpected boon and rarity.
The new Shell station — with service manager Bobby Ladson and master technician Abe Elias — is keen to emphasize its auto repair service. Both Ladson and Elias have decades of experience. Elias comes to town from the former Eastham’s Exxon in Bethesda. The owner of the Georgetown Shell and the Georgetown Exxon, Hamood Abutaa, also owns the Capitol Hill Exxon and says he wants to be involved with the community as he is over on the Hill.

A Shell gas and service station stood at the corner of Wisconsin and Q for years, while Ladd Mills’s Esso was across the street. A fire in March 2011 destroyed the Georgetown Auto Shop and Washingtonian gas station which operated at the site of the new Georgetown Shell.