A New Cool: the George Town Club
• November 26, 2013

You can see that the next generation is taking over at the George Town Club. You can see the changes in the windows that now shine in light through the first floor’s new design. You can even see that the club wants to be your second home. Call it the new cool or the club gets its groove back.

“We have carefully re-invented the George Town Club,” said designer Andrew Law of the elegant in-town club, known for its members involved in politics, diplomacy, business, academia and other professions. Founded in 1966 and rich in stories, the club of late had fallen flat but has undergone a design, culinary and leadership renewal that is attracting new members to the corner property at 1530 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

“The club feels relevant again,” said designer Deborah Winsor, who with others worked on the club over the summer. Sisal rugs brighten up a few of the rooms 10 in total — and linen fabric are used on walls to show off antique woodwork. During the rehab and carpenters’ work, insor moved and re-purposed furniture and then moved artwork from downstairs and hung new and contemporary art from Hemphill Gallery.

entrance door open to all of the first floor allows guests to glance from the entrance to the windows on Volta Place in the Grill — where simply, again, removing the drapery blocking the windows made the room appear new.

“Demographics are changing,” said club treasurer John Girouard. “If you don’t change, you’ll die. Just last week, we had 20 new applicants.”

There are more than 100 new members an amount ever increasing. Girouard is thinking management’s increased efficiency and quality control along with targeting the 30
to 50 demographic. There is new programming for the club’s calendar and talk of “date night,” where children are watched in one room while parents dine upstairs.

The Grill Room is the highlight right now, showing off the club’s new cool. The Reading Room and Living Room have been redone. Other rooms will undergo design changes.
The club’s general manager is Yann Henrotte with chef Martin Galicia making up the new menu. Working on the changes have been Law, Winsor, Girouard, along with George Town Club President Sharon Casey, Vice President Lynn Doran and Elizabeth Miller as well as restaurateur Bo Blair with his wife Meghan.

It was the club’s longtime leader Wyatt Dickerson, he of Pisces fame during the 1970s and ‘80s, and partner with the scandalous Tongsun Park, that recommended Bo Blair, he with the younger generation’s guest lists and of nearby Smith Point and elsewhere.

The club wants to be a place for Georgetowners to stop by for coffee before work or relax after work, not just a spot for suburban visitors. One member said he wanted more of a “Cheers” effect for young and old alike, classy but not stand-offish.

To that end, for example, the club is offering a reduced initiation fee for residents of $2,000 (monthly dues, $150; quarterly minimum of $240). Preview membership waives the initiation fee for one year. Those younger than age 35 can join for $750. There are also on-resident and international memberships with lower fees; foreign diplomats accredited to the U.S., O.A.S. or the U.N. are offered free memberships.

The club is open Monday through Saturday but plans to be open also on Sunday sometime in 2014. The club held several get-togethers to promote its new look and vibe. Here are a few photos taken at the George Town Club recently. [gallery ids="101547,149606,149616,149600,149608,149613,149619" nav="thumbs"]

E-commerce Businesses Set Up Shop in Cady’s Alley Bazaar
• November 25, 2013

With shopping occurring before Thanksgiving and Hanukkah and just in time for Christmas, property owner EastBanc and Jamestown organized a pop-up Cady’s Alley bazaar that features five e-commerce firms, which were happy to set up shop in the 8,000-square-foot, split-level emporium, located at 3330 Cady’s Alley, NW, between the Bulthaup and M2L showrooms within Georgetown’s design district. A Nov. 14 launch party introduced the clothing and home accessories brands: Tuckernuck (classic, preppy styles), Chubbies (radical shorts with American pride), Zestt (fresh home pieces and artwork), Read Wall (U.S.-modern, traditional menswear) and Victoria Road (handcrafted goods from around the world). The pop-up stores in Cady’s Alley will be open through Jan. 5. [gallery ids="101550,149573,149567,149579,149586,149587" nav="thumbs"]

Quick’s Bus: Long on Family and Service
• November 20, 2013

Quick-Livick, Inc., better known as
Quick’s Bus Company, celebrated its
76th anniversary Nov. 18. Quick’s
Bus Company provides charter bus service for
organizational and recreational group tours.
It also offers a daily commuter service from
Fredericksburg to Washington, D.C., and
Northern Virginia.

The family-operated bus company started
back in 1946, when Robert L. Quick and his
father, D. Thomas Quick, saw potential in seven
used buses. Both men have since passed away,
leaving the much-built-upon creation in the
hands of their family.

Today, almost 70 years later, the company
consists of two Virginia locations and 57 motorcoaches.
Quick’s son, Robert Quick, Jr., 65, is
president of the company. “This was my father’s
life,” Quick said. “He worked until two years
ago and then died just a year ago. He loved
working in the bus industry.”

Quick, Jr. retired from the U.S. Army in
1992 and became president of Quick’s Bus
shortly afterward. “I worked with buses before,”
he said. “But I had a lot to learn.” He joked,
specifically, about the difficult transition of
working with the military to working with civilians.
“You tell someone in the military to do
something, and they do it,” he said, laughing. “It
was hard to adapt.”

Quick’s sister, Deborah Quick Ray, was
already working with the company when Quick
assumed role as president. “President is just a
title,” Quick said. “It’s really a partnership with
my sister.” Ray fulfills the role of secretarytreasurer.
“She has worked here forever.”
Quick’s two children, Jason and Kim, began
working for Quick’s in the 1990s, bringing a
fourth generation to the business. Jason currently
works as general manager at the Fredericksberg
office.

The company is now too big to employ only
within the founding family. However, it continues
to provide the friendly-family business
service it is known for. “We have a lot of good
people,” said Quick of his employees. They realize
how important it is, for drivers especially,
to be knowledgeable, kind and courteous. “You
can send an old bus out with a great driver, and
the guests will be happy as clams,” he said. “Or
you can send out a new bus with a bad driver,
and you’ll get complaints.”

Moving forward, Quick’s son Jason will
continue to assume more roles within the company.
Quick, a travel and motorcycle enthusiast,
plans to “ease [his] way out,” of this business.
“Nobody in my family has ever fully retired,”
he said. “I will continue to check in now and
then, just as my father and my uncle did before
me.”

Shop Small on Nov. 30 With BID’s Free ECruiser Rides
•

Savvy shoppers should head to Georgetown
on Saturday, Nov. 30, to “Shop Small” and support
neighborhood businesses as part of Small
Business Saturday.

Georgetown is Washington’s premiere shopping
district with more than 450 merchants,
including a variety of local, independent boutiques.
Small Business Saturday, launched in 2010,
is celebrated nationwide between the busy shopping
days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
to encourage holiday shoppers to visit brick and
mortar businesses that are small and local.
Several Georgetown merchants are offering
special promotions on Small Business Saturday,

including:
Susan Calloway Fine Arts, 1643 Wisconsin
Ave. NW, will be giving away Middle Kingdom
porcelain mini vases, free with any purchase of
$100 or more.

At Bacchus Wine Cellar, 1635 Wisconsin
Ave., NW, holiday shoppers will enjoy discounts
on wine up to 45 percent off.

To make it easy for shoppers to navigate
around Georgetown, the Georgetown Business
Improvement District is sponsoring free eCruisers
rides on Nov. 30 to shuttle shoppers and
visitors around the neighborhood between noon
and 8 p.m. Simply flag down one of the drivers
or call 202-271-1218 to schedule a pick up in
Georgetown.

French Boutique Sandro to Replace Grill Kabob
•

Sandro, a Paris-based fashion label that sells
women’s and men’s clothing, will open its first
D.C. store next year in Georgetown, reported the
Washington Business Journal last week. It will
fill the former space of Red Fire Grill Kabob,
which closed about six months ago.

In 1984, Sandro was created by Evelyne and
Didier Chetrite. Later, their son Ilan joined the
company, designing a men’s line of clothing.

Gypsy Sally’s, Smith Point Seek Lone Tavern License
•

There is one tavern liquor license now available
in Georgetown, which remains under a
neighborhood liquor license moratorium.
Because the defunct Saloun, formerly at 3239
M Street, did not renew its tavern license, the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board cancelled its
license Oct. 30.

So, who has applied for this one-of-a-kind,
tavern-nightclub license?

The Alcoholic Beverage Regulation
Administration told the Georgetowner Nov. 18
that it “has received two applications for the
tavern license in Georgetown. Gypsy Sally’s
Acoustic Tavern LLC, trading as Gypsy Sally’s
at 3401 Water St., NW, applied to transfer
its restaurant license to become a tavern in
Georgetown. The second is from Restaurant
Enterprises, Inc., trading as Smith Point at 1338
Wisconsin Avenue, NW. They also submitted an
application to transfer their alcoholic beverage
license from a restaurant to a tavern in the area.
Applications are being reviewed on a first-come,
first-serve basis and are subject to the approval of
the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.”
Last week, ABRA announced: “ …

Restrictions have temporarily been lifted on
alcoholic beverage licenses for taverns in the
Georgetown Historic District. The change
occurred after the number of licensed taverns
within the historic area fell below a legislative
cap of six. … Taverns located in the
Georgetown Historic District are permitted to
transfer alcoholic beverage licenses to new
owners and new locations within the area. An
existing restaurant in the historic district will
also be able to apply to become a tavern or
nightclub in the neighborhood. Applications
to make any of the changes would need
to be filed with the Alcoholic Beverage
Regulation Administration for consideration by
the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.”
“The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act
and Rules Reform Amendment Act of 1994
freezes the transfer or sale of tavern and
nightclub licenses in the Georgetown Historic
District when there are six or more taverns
and/or nightclubs licensed in the area,”
according to ABRA.

There are no nightclubs licensed in
Georgetown — once a sixth tavern license is
issued, ABRA noted, “the ability to transfertavern
licenses will end once the legislative cap
of six taverns and/or nightclubs is reached in
the Georgetown Historic District.”

Latham Hotel Sold for $45.4 Million
•

The Latham Hotel was bought by SB-Urban
last week for $45.4M, according to DC records.
As reported, the new owners, Frank Saul and
Mike Balaban, are looking to convert the former
hotel — 3000 M St., NW — into small condos. The
Latham Hotel, along with restaurants Citronelle
and la Madeleine, was closed in June 2012.

Cannon’s Fish Market Closes Permanently
•

Closed since August, Cannon’s Fish Market
on 31st Street made the suspected official: it will
shut down permanently.

Cannon’s owner Bobby Moore contacted
Carol Joynt of Washingtonian Magazine “to
announce he’s decided to close the business for
good and lease the space to his 31st Street nextdoor
neighbor, Il Canale Italian restaurant,” Joynt
reported last week.

According to Washingtonian, “Moore, 47,
says the ‘medical reasons’ are simple wear and
tear on his body. ‘I’ve been working there since
I was 12, working on concrete, wet floors, lifting
fish every day of my life …’ he says. ‘My back
is killing me. I had surgery a few years ago for
herniated disks, two knee surgeries, [and] I had
my right hip replaced seven years ago. It’s been
giving me problems again, and my other hip is
shot.’ He says he sat down to discuss it with his
family recently, and they decided to ‘close [the
shop] altogether.’ “

Carp Full Time in Georgetown
• November 7, 2013

Congratulations to Roger Carp of Long and Foster. Roger Carp is now working full-time as manager of its Georgetown office. Son of a diplomat, Carp grew up in Chevy Chase and lived in Europe and also speaks Dutch and French.

Einstein Bros. Bagels Opens in Glover Park
•

Einstein Brothers Bagels opened at 2233 Wisconsin Ave., NW, in the former ground-floor space of stores, Fan Fair and Vespa. The spot was vacant almost five years.