Ins & Outs

Long & Foster Acquired by Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate
HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, announced Sept. 7 that it has acquired the Long & Foster Companies, Inc., the largest private residential real estate company in the United States by sales volume.

The acquisition, according to HomeServices, expands its presence in the Mid-Atlantic region to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and extends its national footprint to Virginia and West Virginia. Adding the Long & Foster brand positions HomeServices to be the nation’s largest home ownership services provider based on transactions, according to the 2017 Real Trends 500 report.

Long & Foster cofounder Wes Foster will remain with the company as chairman emeritus. Jeff Detwiler, Long & Foster’s current president and chief operating officer, will assume the role of chief executive officer; together with the existing team of enterprise and business line leaders, he will oversee growth initiatives and continue to manage day-to-day operations.

Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, Long & Foster Real Estate has approximately 11,000 agents in more than 230 offices serving buyers and sellers in major markets across the Mid-Atlantic and beyond, including Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. In 2016, Long & Foster Real Estate had nearly $29 billion in sales volume and more than 81,000 home sale transactions.

“Finding the right partner to maintain the legacy, culture and integrity of Long & Foster was of utmost importance to me,” said Foster, who founded the company in 1968 with Henry Long. “I couldn’t be more pleased that we are joining an organization known for its impeccable reputation and commitment to protecting brands. Joining HomeServices ensures that our history of market leadership and industry expertise continues.”

With this transaction, according to the company, HomeServices now has more than 41,000 real estate professionals operating in 30 states and the District of Columbia. In 2017, the company expects its sales associates to facilitate over $123 billion in residential real estate sales, nearly 340,000 home sale transactions and nearly 200,000 mortgage, insurance, title and escrow transactions.

Long & Foster Acquires Evers & Co.
Long & Foster Real Estate announced Sept. 12 that it has acquired Evers & Co., a residential real estate brokerage. Founded by Donna Evers in 1985, Evers & Co. specializes in traditional and luxury real estate services in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Effective immediately, the firm’s nearly 100 real estate professionals, including Evers, will become part of Long & Foster.

“Like Long & Foster, Evers & Co. has a long history of success in the D.C. area real estate market, and we’re pleased to welcome their team to our family,” said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate.

Going forward, Evers, who has nearly 40 years of real estate experience, will join Long & Foster’s leadership team. She will continue to manage the three Evers & Co. offices in Chevy Chase and Bethesda, Maryland, and in Washington, D.C.

In: Sweetgreen on Wisconsin
Sweetgreen is about to open at 1044 Wisconsin Ave. NW, a space nearly 1,700 square feet larger than the company’s first location at 3333 M St. NW, which opened 10 years ago. The store will have two levels of indoor seating and an outdoor patio space. The parking lot at the new location will feature a Freshfarm Georgetown farm stand, open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays through Oct. 28. Be warned, however: this Sweetgreen accepts no cash.

In: Footaction in Former Theater Space
It’s not a Foot Locker, but the company’s Footaction subsidiary, selling footwear and apparel, is coming to the renovated Georgetown Theater property at 1351 Wisconsin Ave. NW — where the neon GEORGETOWN sign switched on in 2016 for the first time in more than 20 years. Property owner and architect Robert Bell presented designs for signage on the property to Georgetown’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission last week. The building, a theater for decades, fell on hard times and was renovated and reopened last year by Bell. The soon-to-be occupied first and lower levels measure 120 feet deep by 30 feet wide. Upstairs are offices and apartments.

In: Nobu Opens
Youkoso! The day has arrived, dear Georgetowners: you have your own Nobu — less than a two-block walk from town. Nobu Washington, D.C., the latest addition to the Japanese-Peruvian restaurant empire, founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper, is at 2525 M St. NW, on the ground floor of the building that houses the 2501 Residences on M Street.

“D.C. is a very special place,” chef Matsuhisa said. “So much energy and always a wealth of international influence. This is very inspiring to us as we welcome our neighbors and create new dishes and experiences for our guests.”

The menu includes signatures like black cod with miso and yellowtail sashimi jalapeño — along with toro truffle tamari with jalapeño salsa, wash skirt steak with anticucho, fluke sashimi with dry miso and yuzu. New items will be introduced at the D.C. place. There is even a cocktail named 25th & M (Casamigos tequila, merlot juice and a secret mixture of herbs that add just a hint of spice).

Nobu D.C. can hold 220 persons inside and covers 11,000 square feet of space. It includes a bar and lounge, a dining room and a sushi bar — along with private event spaces. There is an outdoor dining space overlooking a section of Rock Creek Park that is not yet ready.

At the far end of the dining room, a convertible private dining space gives way to open-air and covered patios that combine to create an interconnected event space. An additional private dining room in the southeast corner is designed for tasting dinners, private meetings and cocktail events for up to 30 guests.

The restaurant general manager is George Lipson, who hails from Miami, and has worked in the Honolulu Nobu, a favorite of former President Barack Obama. Lipson said he knows Obama has an office nearby and would be more happy to serve him in D.C. The executive chef for the new Nobu is Eudy Camillo Cruz, who worked at Nobu 57 in New York. The executive sushi chef is Sung Cho and the bar manager is Thuy Hong, who will oversee the only house barrel-aged Kikori Japanese whiskey in the region.

The Nobu group contains almost 40 restaurants as well as a few hotels. The M Street restaurant is open for dinner from 5 until 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with lunch service to follow in October.

Store Rehabs, Pizza at Former Lipert Spot?
• The rehabilitation of the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Wisconsin Avenue continues; two storefronts are all that remain. The gutted properties at 1357 and 1359 Wisconsin Ave. NW are being prepared to be rebuilt with an added floor. Erstwhile clothing stores Studio and Signature (which moved to the 1600 block in December) will be getting new tenants when the work is complete. Nearby is the reconstructed Georgetown Theater property, which started the block’s comeback last year, as well as parents’ favorite Tugooh Toys.

• Word on the street — specifically M — is that the former Keith Lipert space at 2922 will become a pizza parlor. Lipert can now be found in Canal Square at 1054 31st St. NW.