Business

Georgetowner • March 16, 2016

IN: Glover Park Hardware Store

Glover Park Hardware owners Gina Schaefer and Marc Friedman reopened a new 7,500-square-foot location at 2233 Wisconsin Ave. NW on Feb. 25, taking the place of the neighborhood hardware store that closed in January of 2015. The store is in the lower front level, next to the bar, Breadsoda. After losing its lease after 10 years, the business left its old location at 2251 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The store’s general manager is Noe Delgado, who has worked there since 2010.

IN: Rite Aid in Glover Park

The 24-hour Rite Aid Pharmacy in Glover Park at 2255 Wisconsin Ave. NW has opened. The Rite Aid drugstore chain is set to be acquired by Walgreens Boots Alliance, an American holding company that consists of Retail Pharmacy USA (Walgreens), Duane Reade, Retail Pharmacy International (Boots UK) and Alliance Healthcare. It will become part of the largest retail pharmacy in the United States and Europe. The new Glover Park location is across the street from a CVS Pharmacy.

IN: Hinckley Pottery in Blues Alley

Hinckley Pottery has moved into 3132 Blues Alley NW, next to the Blues Alley jazz club. A message on the website of the 40-year-old pottery studio, which was in Adams Morgan for decades, but was first opened by Jill Hinckley in Georgetown, says: “Our doors will open in late March or early April. Until then, we will get our wheels, kilns, shelves, pots and tools ready to welcome you to this wonderful, larger space. Our second floor studio will make it possible for us to expand beyond our ongoing wheel classes to provide space for potters who prefer to work independently. We also will offer two hand-building classes later this spring.”

IN: 2501 M St. to Open With Condos — and Nobu

The former office building at 25th and M streets NW is being reconstructed into condos — now being marketed as The 2501, Residences on M Street (“mixed-use luxury condos in Georgetown”) — with its ground floor going to the famed Nobu, one of the most acclaimed Japanese restaurants in the country. With private dining rooms and patios in the back overlooking Rock Creek Park, Nobu should be ready by the end of 2016; the condos, next year. It seems that Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa was convinced that the West End corner is the sweet spot between Georgetown and downtown.

While it’s not exactly in Georgetown, it is next door to Francis Park and the Embassy of Qatar, and two blocks east of Georgetown — and fewer than three blocks from The Georgetowner’s office and the Four Seasons Hotel.

“PRP Real Estate Investment Management purchased 2501 M Street NW in 2014 and moved forward with converting the Class B office building into residences,” according to Urban Turf. “Specifically, the lower six floors of the nine-story building are being converted into five levels of high-end condominiums and ground-floor retail space. The top three floors, which were already condos, will not be changed. CORE is handling the design of 2501 M, and the Mayhood Company is managing sales and marketing.”

Expanded: T.J. Maxx

Clothing discounter T.J. Maxx celebrated a grand re-opening on March 3 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and store specials. The store will be open from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. At 3222 M St. NW since 2012, the store expanded into space previously shared with Home Goods, also part of the T.J. Maxx company.

Georgetowner • February 24, 2016

IN: Bar à Vin, at Chez Billy Sud
First, in 2012, there was Chez Billy in Petworth. Then, in 2014, there was Chez Billy Sud in Georgetown. Now, on Feb. 29, there will be Bar à Vin at 1035 31st St. NW, a long-vacant space adjacent to Chez Billy Sud. All three, and more, are the creations of Eric Hilton (of electronic music collective Thievery Corporation) and his younger brother Ian. The new space, expected to feature a large, carefully curated, mostly French wine list, will be open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., accommodating those waiting for a table at Chez Billy Sud and others. The smaller of two rooms has a working fireplace.

IN: Dean & Deluca’s Patio, Now With Alcohol, Music
The Dean & DeLuca food market at 3276 M St. NW will soon sell beer and wine to be consumed at its outside plaza, with limited music allowed. (The store has always sold beer and wine, but alcohol could not be consumed on the premises.) The cafe, the Citizens Association of Georgetown and the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E have entered into a voluntary agreement, with expected approval by the D.C. Alcohol Beverage Control Board.

IN: Bedrock Gets Gtown Park Place
Restaurant entrepreneur Geoff Dawson has signed a lease for space at Georgetown Park on the canal level with a Wisconsin Avenue entrance. Dawson’s many Bedrock Management Company ventures include Bedrock Billiards, Ripple and Penn Social.

IN: 3 Eateries Share Space on Grace Street
Georgetown’s mini food eruption continues. Grace Street Coffee Roasters, South Block Juice Co. and SundeVich will soon be checking into a shared space at 3210 Grace St. NW, near Dog Tag Bakery and across from Chaia Tacos. The coffee shop will be joined by the Arlington micro juicery’s sixth store. The global-sandwich maker from Shaw will also set up in Georgetown. Wow, it’s a wholly trinity of Millennial tastes, just half a block from Wisconsin and M.

All D.C. Boathouses Now Under Single Management
Under a new 10-year agreement with the National Park Service, NCR Guest Services will take over operation of all three of D.C.’s public boathouses along the Potomac River. Visitors will now be able to rent boats and bikes from any boathouse and drop them off at any other boathouse. Other features of the new management include instructional programs for rowing, canoeing, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding; storage and rental of non-motorized watercraft; programs for the disabled; canoe and kayak development programs for youths; and junior fishing programs.

OUT: Yes to Drugs, No to Liquor for Glover Park Rite Aid
At its Feb. 11 meeting, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3B voted 5-0 to oppose a request made in January by the soon-to-open Glover Park Rite Aid to lift the neighborhood’s existing ban on new Class A licenses, which permit retail sales of beer, wine and spirits. The Glover Park Citizens’ Association previously voted to oppose the request. Rite Aid — which under existing law cannot get a beer-and-wine-only license (Class B) because a nearby business, Whole Foods, already has one — is expected to contest the decision. A public hearing will be held March 30. The new Rite Aid occupies the former Glover Park Hardware location at 2251 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

Robert Devaney • February 18, 2016

*Updated Jan. 15.*

Five Guys hamburger restaurant at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Dumbarton Street will close Sunday, Jan. 24, after years at its Georgetown location. For decades, the 1335 Wisconsin Ave. NW address held the French bistro Au Pied du Cochon, known for a Soviet spy escape and a Mike Tyson incident, before Five Guys arrived about 10 years ago. Founded in Arlington, Va., in 1986, Five Guys has often received top burger prizes and now has more than 1,000 locations in North America. It opened its first United Kingdom spot three years ago. It also has franchises in Ireland and Saudi Arabia.

Jack Wills has vacated its store near the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, but get ready for Lilly Pulitzer, the “Queen of Prep” clothier, to arrive at 1079 1/2 Wisconsin Ave. NW, to be exact. The Jack Wills store at 1079 Wisconsin Ave. NW closed Christmastime. “Life’s a party, dress like it,” according to Lilly Pulitzer. As for departed Jack Wills, it remains “fabulously British” in other locations, such as Philadelphia, Nova Scotia and, of course, the U.K.

Sweet Frog frozen yogurt shop at 1737 Wisconsin Ave. NW, which opened in October 2013, has closed. It was a fun spot for kids around the neighborhood and for hanging out after sports at Jelleff Boys & Girls Club center.

Noodles & Co, the fast casual restaurant with dishes from mac ‘n cheese to pad Thai at 1815 Wisconsin Ave. NW, has closed as did the nearby Rooster’s barber shop a couple of months ago. Other businesses in this fairly new, small retail complex— next to the Social Safeway—include Drybar, a blow dry bar, and Cardinal Bank. These two favorites are doing quite well, thank you.

Also, gone soon will be Georgetown’s liquor license moratorium. In effect since 1989 and due to expire April 3, it has gotten a no vote from Georgetown groups, which have come to view it as a big restraint to the restaurant business and a hinderance to business in general.

Last month, the Georgetown Business Association, which represents businesses throughout all of Georgetown, added its own unequivocal take on the debate: let the Georgetown liquor license moratorium expire, with no strings attached.

The Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission unanimously voted at its Jan. 4 meeting to ask that the Georgetown liquor license moratorium be allowed expire by spring, allowing for a so-called “Georgetown Settlement Agreement Template.”

It resolved: “. . . ANC 2E requests that the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board recognize the community’s action to adopt a Settlement Agreement Template aimed at addressing issues of hours of operation, noise disturbance, public space cleanliness and maintenance, and general concerns to ensure peace, order and quiet in the community . . .” and “. . . that the [board] adopt a protocol for reviewing CR and DR license applications in Georgetown consistent with that available to other jurisdictions in the city . . .”

On board with the template idea is the Georgetown Business Improvement District, which wrote up its concept first a few months ago, and the Citizens Association of Georgetown. The BID will have its final vote on the revised template Jan. 21.
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Richard Selden •

In 2000, when Peter Colasante decided to move in, the once-elegant storefront on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and P Street, formerly an Italian men’s shop, was boarded up. The art gallery he was relocating from Connecticut Avenue was named for architect and engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant (Colasante didn’t consider the 1960s office complex—L’Enfant Plaza—a fitting tribute to the designer of the District of Columbia).

Colasante, 67, is still pleased with his choice of location, calling Georgetown — outside of New York, which he says is “a different universe” — “the best place in the best city in the country to be.” The gallery’s window displays, meant to be “visual out-of-the-box experiences,” draw in the avenue’s enviable foot traffic. “I find out who they are later,” he says.

By now, the gallery has an international network of clients, a “nuclear family.” Dealers look to L’Enfant Gallery for Chinese art and Asian ceramics, and the Civil War is a focus (Colasante lent items to a major Lincoln exhibition recently), but the overall mix is eclectic in genre, origin and price.

Stepping inside, visitors face a red wall of paintings hung salon-style, assorted chandeliers above. That sense of rich surprise extends throughout the gallery’s four levels.

In November, after a volunteer archivist went through what was in storage, Colasante opened the gallery’s basement to the public. It is now set up to resemble a Victorian viewing parlor, complete with a carved chief’s throne from Borneo.

Having decamped for Vienna, Virginia, Colasante no longer gets up at 3 in the morning to move paintings around. But he and his business partner (and former spouse) Maureen Taylor rearrange the display and host special exhibitions every few months. From total holdings of roughly 4,000 objects, he says they sell 200 to 300 per year.

Colasante’s eyes twinkle behind stylish frames when he recalls starting out with a much smaller inventory. In December of 1973, he opened Calvert Gallery in an English basement on Connecticut Avenue, putting four things purchased at apartment sales in the window. The gallery grew as it moved from one location to another in the vicinity of Connecticut and Calvert, becoming L’Enfant Gallery in 1990.

Raised in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, Colasante attended Catholic University, where he failed to shine, as he tells it, either as an actor or a philosopher. He learned about art working in Oxon Hill, Maryland, as an eccentric collector’s cataloguer, then curator. His boss’s advice: Never specialize.

Colasante can remember three recessions, but calls the last five years “the worst it’s ever been.” The threshold for bread-and-butter purchases, formerly $10,000, has dropped to $3,000, he says. The good news is that he owns his building, having finally been able to purchase it from a trust in 2012. He also does appraisal work and counsels owners of art and antiques (he advises those wishing to hang on to treasured possessions to avoid the three Ds: death, divorce and downsizing).

In the end, Colasante explains, the business is about matchmaking. You can have the finest example of something in the world, but “unless the right person comes to buy it, it doesn’t matter.”

Juliana Zovak •

When Donguk Kim first came to America from South Korea in 2003, he never dreamed he would one day be the proprietor of a storied market in Washington’s most historic neighborhood. But he did have dreams.

“I wanted to be a successful businessman in America and I heard there were many chances there,” he said.

He came to Maryland in 2004 with his wife and son. They lived in a homestay and attended church with their host. Through a church connection, he began running a dollar store a few months later. After that, he ran a deli in Silver Spring. That’s what Kim was doing in 2012 when he saw a listing in the Korea Times for Scheele’s Market, at 1331 29th St. NW.

Considering the market’s loyal customer base, taking over Scheele’s was no simple matter. The 120-year-old market has been a staple in the neighborhood for generations. Indeed, a few years ago, neighbors contributed to a special fund to ensure that the building remain a market through an agreement with the property owner.

Kim has taken the initiative to maintain the market’s strong relationship with the customers who come for groceries, beer and wine and fresh deli sandwiches. The blizzard of 2016 also gave him a chance to shine: he was open throughout the weekend. “I’m always listening to what my customers want and I try to get it soon,” he said, referring to his plan to add requested merchandise to the shelves.

Kim’s customers, meanwhile, love the quality of the food, the dedicated service and the friendship the quaint market fosters. Scheele loyalists include senators and the Secretary of Energy, who once posed for a photo with Kim.

They are just as devoted to Scheele’s as Kim is to them. One customer described the recent attempts to get a few tables and chairs out front, allowing customers to eat their sandwiches while enjoying the scenery and the buzz of life in Georgetown (that plan has not yet been approved by the District).

Kim believes that the market has the potential to become more profitable. Grocery purchases currently account for about half of sales, he said, and new customers are few. Though the work is hard and the hours are long, he enjoys interacting with the community and getting the chance to experience life in the nation’s capital.

“I’ve liked adventure all through my life. South Korea is not a bad country, but I was always longing for America.”

Along with running a business, Kim has managed to fulfill that desire for adventure by visiting places such as the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Mexico and Miami. And he also has Scheele’s, which, though quiet and unassuming at first glance, has certainly been an adventure of its own.

Robert Devaney •

Five Guys hamburger restaurant at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Dumbarton Street will close Sunday, Jan. 24, after years at its Georgetown location. For decades, the 1335 Wisconsin Ave. NW address held the French bistro Au Pied du Cochon, known for a Soviet spy escape and a Mike Tyson incident, before Five Guys arrived about 10 years ago.

Founded in Arlington, Va., in 1986, Five Guys has often received top burger prizes and now has more than 1,000 locations in North America. It opened its first United Kingdom spot three years ago. It also has franchises in Ireland and Saudi Arabia.

Also going is Nadeau Furniture With a Soul at 1065 Wisconsin Ave. NW, which will close by the end of January. The cool, unique handmade furniture store—the business began in 1991—issued this missive to its customers: “We’re counting down the days until the merge with Nadeau Alexandria! We are so excited to be able to offer a larger space, with a fuller selection of furniture, and more parking! All with the same amazing prices you love, of course. Be sure to come see us in Georgetown and grab your favorites before they go. Then, visit us in Alexandria, too.” Nadeau has stores from New York and Charleston to Louisville and Los Angeles.
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John E. Girouard •

If you are anything like the hordes of people rushing to see this year’s Oscar-nominated movies, then you have seen, or at least heard of, “The Big Short.” But unlike other blockbusters, this movie is more than mere entertainment; it is a timely lesson for many investors, who are once again watching the stock market take a tumble.

As I have written many times, investors are only human — which means they are funny creatures that tend to have short memories and act impulsively. Academics call it the “cycle of emotion” or, even better, the “14 stages of trading psychology”: Optimism, Excitement, Thrill, Euphoria, Anxiety, Denial, Fear, Desperation, Panic, Capitulation, Despondency, Depression, Hope and Relief.

Unless you are extremely indifferent or have never put money into a stock, bond or bank account, you’ve most likely found yourself going through these stages.

But what “The Big Short” teaches us in bright Hollywood colors is that from 1937 to 2007 Wall Street only operated with Optimism, Excitement and Thrill.

What is investing, anyways? It is what the founders of capitalism understood perfectly: how to use someone else’s money to make money for everyone else. In fact, one definition of capitalism is “increasing cooperation amongst strangers.”

The turning point came in 1981, with the first conversion of a Wall Street partnership (Salomon Brothers) into a public company. In a partnership, the partners typically take controlled risks with their money. But when these firms went public the game changed. They were no longer making decisions with their money, it was someone else’s — and the more risks they took, the more money they made. If they bet wrong, they lost someone else’s money, not the partners’.

But if you watched the movie (or have watched the markets in the past couple weeks), you should understand what I hope the average investor will finally realize: there is a difference between saving and investing. One may seem boring and slow, but should be the bedrock of any financial plan. The other is gambling; someone else is placing the bets for you and taking a portion of your winnings if you hit the jackpot.

Once you have enough financial security, then you can jump on the roller coaster of investing. Just make sure you can stay on until you reach the end of the ride and can disembark safely.

As a Certified Financial Planner and fiduciary, I look at all financial products based on their purpose and how they can help my clients build wealth and financial security for their families. But in my industry it is all about Wall Street versus insurance companies.

Perhaps asset allocation needs to expand beyond Wall Street products and the average investor’s only other asset, his or her home. Rather than let your emotions get the best of you, perhaps it’s time we all learned how to manage our cash the way the banks do. After all, they don’t take risks with their money, only ours.

John E. Girouard, author of “Take Back Your Money” and “The Ten Truths of Wealth Creation,” is a registered principal of Cambridge Investment Research and an Investment Advisor Representative of Capital Investment Advisors in Bethesda, Maryland.

Robert Devaney • February 1, 2016

UPDATED: Because of the snow storm, grand opening events have been rescheduled to Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.

Down Dog Yoga will open a new yoga studio, at 34th and Prospect Streets, Saturday, Jan. 30, and is celebrating the yoga class space this weekend. It will retain its Potomac Street space as a “yoga teacher training center and for special yoga events,” Dog Dog Yoga founder Patty Ivey told The Georgetowner.

The studio is located in a small retail building that housed Govinda Gallery and Cabellos Hair Salon for decades. At 2,700 square feet, it is larger than—and barely four blocks from—its flagship and original location at 1046 Potomac St. NW, next to the C&O Canal. Its other spaces are in Arlington, Bethesda and Herndon.

“We’re moving!” announced Down Dog Yoga in an email. “After 13 years on the canal, the studio that started it all — the original ‘mothership’ — is moving to a brand new, beautifully updated space. You’re invited. Join us this weekend as we celebrate the opening of our brand new studio space, located just up the road, on the corner of 34th & Prospect.”

Here is the weekend schedule, as provided by Down Dog Yoga:

The weekend of Jan. 30 and Jan. 31 only

— Special new classes

— Door prizes & giveaways 

— Freebies & goodies from local vendors 

— Special class package pricing

Saturday, Jan. 23

9 a.m. — Celebration Kick-Off Flow with Patty Ivey

11 a.m. — Hot Core Flow with Ariane McCormack

12:30 p.m. — Power Beats with Megan Crouch & Catherine Richardson

4 p.m. — Baptiste Power with Megan Crouch

Sunday, Jan. 24

9 a.m. — Baptiste Power with Marcus Lee

11 a.m. — Hot Core Flow with Colure Caulfield

12:30 p.m. — Fluid Power & Meditation with Jess Lazar

4:30 p.m. — Power Beats with Megan Crouch & Catherine Richardson

6:15 p.m. — Candlelight Slow Flow with Erica De Vos

Studio Open House, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (all weekend)

Stop by to tour the new space, meet instructors, check out retail, purchase class package specials.

Founded in 2003, the company offers heated vinyasa power yoga studios — which includes pilates — and is the creation of Patty Ivey, who lives on Dent Place with her husband Scott Ivey, who is also part of the business.

To learn more about Down Dog Yoga and about Patty and Scott Ivey, read the cover story of the Dec. 4, 2014, Georgetowner.

Robert Devaney •

Whether snow or shine, the Georgetown Business Association held its monthly networking reception Jan. 20 at Onward Reserve, the preppy and dressy casual men’s clothing store that opened at 1063 Wisconsin Ave. NW last spring.

The business group is celebrating 40 years as an advocate and promoter of the Georgetown business and professional community. The GBA plans a 40th anniversary party in June.

The group and its guests thanked Onward Reserve store manager Christ Carroll for the chance to meet and check out the new place. One of the store’s most popular items for Georgetown is its R.I.P. belt that depicts the logos of shuttered bars and restaurants, such as The Guard’s or Rhino Bar.

Founded by T.J. Callaway and Will Watts in 2012, the apparel and home-goods retailer operates with an extensive online selection. Onward Reserve’s list of brands includes Barbour, Peter Millar, Dubarry and Vilebrequin, as well as up-and-comers like Smathers & Branson, Martin Dingman and Tokens & Icons. Headquartered in Atlanta, Onward Reserve has locations in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Guests enjoyed light ware and hot toddies during the evening of light snow—that saw a tough commute for many drivers.
Some GBA members recalled the retail space’s previous incarnation: the Pleasure Place, a sex toy boutique for 35 years. [gallery ids="102371,124503,124497,124507" nav="thumbs"]