Robert Devaney • February 14, 2013

As DSW, a discount shoe store, prepares to moves into the former Georgetown Park Mall, a long-time tenant of the Shops at Georgetown Park is moving down the street a bit to the corner, once occupied by Intermix, alongside Dean & DeLuca. J. Crew plans to open in its new, larger space in April. Other new tenants coming to the shopping complex at 3222 M St., NW, include HomeGoods, T.J. Maxx and Pinstripes.

Robert Devaney •

Following a multi-million dollar makeover, the Hotel Monticello reopens its doors in early April as the Graham Georgetown. The 57-room hotel, owned by Mast Capital of Miami, at 1075 Thomas Jefferson St., NW, takes its inspiration from Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, who had a laboratory on Volta Place in Georgetown and who, according to the new hotel, “personified the intersection of modern ingenuity with historical significance – a fine-tuned blend of old and new that will define guests’ experience at the Graham Georgetown and distinguish it from the Hotel Monticello.” The hotel will have a rooftop bar, the Observatory, and a cocktail lounge, the Alex, as well as a fitness center.

On 31st Street at the C&O Canal, the Capella is also set to open in April. Its five-story building is the former Trial Lawyers Association headquarters. The 49-room Capella will boast a restaurant and bar overlooking the canal. The Grill Room seats 70 and will be headed by chef Jacob Esko, who hails from Sweden and arrives from Capella Singapore. It will also have a rooftop bar — along with a swimming pool.

Robert Devaney •

Georgetown architect Marilyn Stern, who has patents on such things as balancing place cards and a pleat-pin drapery system, has branched out to personalized prescriptions as party favors. The product developer’s new small business division is called Scrip Tease Rx, and each container can have a label made personally for each individual at an event.

At a birthday party last summer, the creative Stern first decided to give each party-goer an individualized prescription label that played on their personalities. She wanted to keep things light and casual and make parties funnier, she said.

Now, the humorous labels just keep coming and include “Boost-a-cillin,” improved outlook, “Multitask-eral,” help for multitasks, and “Sinbalta,” cure for bad behavior. What’s inside the small containers? Something better than hard drugs: simple M&Ms or other candies.

Stern finds her small business at a crossroads: how to grow it faster to meet demand? For increased funding, she has turned to Kickstarter. com, where she wrote: “We can help you and your friends with your issues and make all your events fun and memorable. So, we’re hoping that you help us with our one small issue. In order to produce the Scrip Tease Rx labels in an efficient and reasonable way, we are in need of a real pharmaceutical label printer.” Stern’s deadline for funding is Feb. 24. Check www. Kickstarter.com — “Funny, personalized, fake prescriptions for modern life” — and also visit Stern’s own site, www.Sternscape.com. [gallery ids="101162,141668" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

Beasley Real Estate founder Jim Bell celebrated the firm’s first anniversary with a gathering to benefit Georgetown Ministry Center at one of Beasley’s best listings: a first-floor residence at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton on South Street. The $4.65-million property is at a top-drawer location near all of Georgetown’s action and overlooks the Potomac River, Whitehurst Freeway and Washington Harbour.

Robert Devaney •

The Nationals’ Young Benefactors Off- season on Ice fundraiser skated around Washington Harbour’s ice rink and Nick’s Riverside Grill Feb. 7, thanks for mascots Teddy Roosevelt and Screech. Amid the donors and influencers at Nick’s was Mike Rizzo, general manager of the Nationals, being thanked for last season and getting ready for spring training. The night raised funds for the Nationals Dream Foundation, which benefits the Neighborhood Initiative and two new non-profits: the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy and the Washington Nationals Pediatric Diabetes Care Complex at Children’s National Medical Center. [gallery ids="102583,119737,119743" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

A student-run pub at Georgetown University’s New South Student Center was agreed upon by the university’s student affairs vice president Todd Olson and its student government Feb. 7.

According to the news blog, Vox Populi, “the new campus bar will serve beer, wine, and liquor on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and will include 18+ nights or a system of wristbands for underage students, according to the agreement. The vendor will also be required to hire Georgetown students for part-time positions in addition to creating a committee to guide the business.”

Confident of student involvement on many levels, such as menus, beverage selection, advertising, programming and scheduling, student association president Clara Gustafson told the blog, “We are confident [the location] will be a new hub of student life for underclassmen and upperclassmen alike, [and] will draw more students to the space.”

The new student center at New South will cost $15.5 million. The pub is part of the university’s campus plan, agreed upon by Georgetown residents, to keep more student activity on the main campus. It also recalls the beloved Healy Hall pub, began in the 1970s as a coffeehouse, that became a campus hang-out that served beer and sandwiches.

Robert Devaney • February 12, 2013

The fourth annual Georgetown art show opened at the House of Sweden with a festive Feb. 7 reception which once again packed the gallery with admirers and artists. The show, put on by the Citizens Association of Georgetown, ran through Feb. 10 and exhibited visual artists who live or work in Georgetown. Most works were on sale; a few were on loan from private collections. The show was designed by Jennie Buhler and chaired by Laura-Anne Tiscornia. [gallery ids="101155,141535,141512,141530,141519,141526" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney • February 11, 2013

What do you mean “Death is imminent”? That’s the voicemail for a reporter from a caller who sounded like Albrecht Muth, according to the Washington Post. Here’s the Post account on Feb. 1: ” . . . Muth, the eccentric German charged in the 2011 beating death of his elderly Georgetown wife, has been hospitalized as a result of a hunger strike, sources familiar with the case said Friday. Speaking on condition of anonymity because Muth’s case is pending in D.C. Superior Court, the sources said Muth was removed from the D.C. jail and has been in critical condition at a local hospital as a result of his hunger fast. It is unknown whether his trial, scheduled to begin March 25, will proceed. Muth, 48, is charged with first-degree murder in the August 2011 death of his wife of 22 years, Viola Herms Drath, then 91. Authorities said Muth beat and strangled his wife in their Georgetown home.” Drath’s birthday is Friday, Feb. 8; her Facebook page is still active.

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The D.C. Court of Appeals overturned the 2010 conviction of “an Arlington man accused of breaking into homes and sexually assaulting male Georgetown University students as they slept,” according to the Washington Examiner. The court ruled Jan. 31 that Todd Matthew Thomas “can get a new trial because prosecutors were allowed to tell jurors that he was previously convicted of sexually assaulting another man in Virginia.”
Thomas had been sentenced to 26 years in prison for burglary and assaults on five male Georgetown students between 2007 and 2008. The assaults occurred on 33rd and 35th Streets near the university’s main campus. During the trial, Thomas claimed another “Georgetown Cuddler” had committed the crimes, because there were similar attacke on female students — and he had been wearing an electronically monitored ankle bracelet at that time.

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Despite Feb. 1 reports in the Washingtonian and DCist blog, Georgetown Cupcake was happy to report that it has no outstanding tax bill to the District of Columbia. The hugely popular corner bakery at 33rd and M Streets had everyone wondering how such a bill of about $189,000 would convert into cupcakes. The problem was first reported by the Washington Business Journal. “Georgetown Cupcake has paid its taxes to the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue in full, and the Office of Tax and Revenue has acknowledged receipt of payment,” said Katherine Kallinis, co-owner with her sister Sophie LaMontagne. Kallinis also wrote to the Washingtonian: “The misunderstanding regarding the lien has been resolved, the lien is in the process of being terminated, and we expect confirmation of the termination later today.”