EagleBank: Banking on Politics
• April 13, 2015

EagleBank is best known in Georgetown as a local community bank, specializing in providing its customers with personal care. The bank is also well known for its involvement with D.C.’s booming restaurant scene, serving over 100 area restaurants including the Black Restaurant Group (behind BlackSalt), José Andrés’s growing ThinkFoodGroup empire and local Georgetown spots like the Peacock Café, J.Paul’s and Paulo’s.

After successfully tackling commercial and personal banking on a community level, to the tune of over $3 billion in loans in and around the District, EagleBank is looking to provide banking services to Washington’s most celebrated multi-billion-dollar industry: politics.

With the hiring of John Vogt as senior vice president and Joanne Parker as assistant vice president, EagleBank is pivoting to where the big money is in Washington, the political arena. As the 2016 election season heats up, EagleBank is looking to steal the business of super-regional banks like SunTrust and PNC and – even bigger – national fish like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, by taking a community-oriented approach to the commercial banking needs of D.C.’s trade associations, political committees, unions, lobbying firms and advocacy groups.

It all starts with Vogt, a 30-plus-year political and policy veteran who worked as an operative on the Hill, at the Treasury Department under President George H. W. Bush and as the head of the Washington office of the now-defunct Bond Market Association. (The Bond Market Association was a part of the trade association merger that resulted in the formation of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association or SIFMA.)

After bouncing between Tennessee, West Virginia and New Jersey growing up, Vogt visited Washington on a trip with other promising youths on a Hearst Foundation fellowship. The group met President Carter, Vice President Mondale and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Vogt was most impressed by a day spent shadowing Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee on the trip. He told the senator that he was applying to Georgetown University, to which Baker replied, “If you go there, why don’t you come and work for me?” Vogt ended up at Georgetown and that’s exactly what he did.

Years later, with a young family at home and Jack Abramoff in the news, Vogt made a career change, starting Chain Bridge Bank near home in Mclean. “A community bank is what I’m built for,” he says. He cherished life as a part of the McLean community, volunteering to coach his kids’ Little League teams, becoming treasurer of the McLean Community Foundation and teaching financial literacy and setting up a student-run bank at their school.

Vogt was having fun, but started itching for a new challenge. Upgrading his credentials at Barclays, where he got licensed and registered as a broker-dealer and investment advisor, he found himself missing the “people-ness” of community banking. His office at Barclays was housed in the same building as EagleBank Vice Chairman Bob Pincus’s office, and Pincus kept after him to meet. The subject: banking for the political sector, something Pincus had been intimately involved in during the 1980s and ’90s.

One conversation led to another. Vogt ended up joining EagleBank’s enterprise banking team in early 2015, along with Parker, who had previously worked as chief financial officer of the Republican Governors Association.

The freshly hired duo is in charge of bringing in business from the big money players in Washington, regardless of political affiliation. With inside knowledge of how political operations work, Vogt and Parker are hoping to bring EagleBank’s customized and personalized brand of commercial banking to D.C.’s countless political organizations.

Parker says, “We can go in anticipating what they [clients] might need off the bat and understanding where they’re coming from with a lot of the things they’re asking for, and their wants and desires.” As for their political affiliations, Vogt says, “Bankers keep their mouths shut. We are a bank for organizations of all sizes and all entities.”

The work itself isn’t very sexy, but Vogt and Parker hope that their know-how, networks and experience make EagleBank a more attractive place for political organizations to bank. As campaigns ramp up for the coming elections, EagleBank is launching a campaign of its own: a bid to take business from the bigger banks, using its trademark tailored approach.

Warby Parker on M Street
• April 9, 2015

Online hipster eyeglass outlet Warby Parker, announced Thursday that the company had signed a lease in Georgetown at 3225 M St. NW. The announcement follows news that Warby Parker will open its first Washington, D.C., location in Shaw, at the Shay development at 8th Street and Florida Avenue. The Georgetown space used to house True Religion.

Maxime Restaurant in Former Guards Space
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Lastly, casual French steak house and mussel bar Maxime opens today at 2915 M St. NW. The concept comes from Moe and Joe Idrissi along with Ben Kirane of Thunder Burger and Bodega fame. The location formerly housed Rialto. Before that, from 1966 to 2012, it was home to the legendary Guards Restaurant. In addition to steak frites, mussels and French hors d’oeuvres, there is a Belgian-inspired list of specialty beers and cocktails. Maxime is open daily from 4 to 11 p.m.

Food Delivery Service DoorDash Debuts
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DoorDash debuted in D.C. at the end of March, combining elements of food-delivery apps like GrubHub and Seamless with the contractor-driver model of Uber and Lyft. DoorDash delivers only from restaurants in Northwest D.C. and only within a four-mile radius of your restaurant of choice. So far, Bethesda Bagels, Ben’s Chili Bowl, Pho 14, Busboys & Poets and Chipotle have partnered with the service. DoorDash differs from Seamless and GrubHub in that it charges a flat $7 for fee food delivery and the driver, not the restaurant, is in charge of pick up and delivery. DoorDash promises successful delivery within one hour of an order.

T H E Artist Agency Celebrates 30 Years in Georgetown
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Georgetown’s T H E Artist Agency – a group of models and stylists – celebrated its 30th birthday April 1. Well known around the city and beyond, the agency has been used by many in the media, including this newspaper. The models, hairstylists and make-up artists, as well as the wardrobe and set stylists, have helped make several Georgetowner fashion specials more than memorable.

Headed by Lynda Erkiletian, president, and Elizabeth McDavitt-Centenari, director and vice president, the agency offered the following anniversary comments: “On our walk down memory lane, we revisit our humble beginnings in 1985. Propelled by limitless vision, hard work and determination, T H E was born in a 300-square-foot office on P Street, using one phone with call-waiting (and no computers) to book five stylists for a handful of loyal clients. Still in Georgetown 30 years later, we have made our home in an historic building on Potomac Street where we are honored to book the top one percent of talent for an elite clientele on an eco-friendly, paper-free booking system. Inspired by our passion for the industry and the satisfaction of loving what we do, we remain true to our roots while so much continues to change for the better.”

Check out T H E’s new website – THEArtistAgency.com – to peruse, as it noted, its “fresh look, user-friendly interface and the stunning portfolios of our models and stylists.”

M29 Lifestyle at Four Seasons Marks 5th Anniversary
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M29 Lifestyle at Four Seasons Hotel Washington, D.C., celebrates five years as one of Georgetown’s shopping destinations for luxurious hidden gems. “As style trends change with each season,” the store says, it “has continued to offer its clients a diverse and unique selection of exquisite clothing, accessories, home décor and gifts featuring creations from more than 20 designers exclusive to the store.”

The store will launch a new exclusive line April 16: Claire Florence for M29 Lifestyle. Pieces include collector’s edition totes, silk and ostrich feather scarves, spring cashmere tees and white crochet dresses, all ranging in price from $170 to $525.

“We are excited to launch an in-house line in collaboration with Claire Florence,” said the store’s retail director, Ron Edwards. “Florence’s designs are fresh, feminine and posh with details and trim that suit our luxury customers.”

Georgetown-based designer Claire Florence has worked directly with Edwards to create custom designs. Florence’s career started in New York, where she consulted for firms like Calvin Klein, Tom Ford and Cotton Incorporated. In 2000, she opened a New York City design studio that was featured in Vogue, Elle, Allure and Marie Claire. Florence’s sculptural pieces, made out of cashmere and detailed with fox and mink fur, have been worn by celebrities including Annick Goutal, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Minnie Driver.

During the anniversary event, M29 Lifestyle will partner with Deborah Sigmund, a longtime friend of the store, donating 10 percent of the proceeds to Innocents at Risk, which is celebrating 10 years of fighting child sex-trafficking around the world.

Shadowstone Lighting Opens in D.C.
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One of the largest companies for media, film and entertainment lighting on the East Coast, Shadowstone opened at 953 V St. NE March 27 with a grand opening reception. On hand were company founder Frank Marsico, At-large Council member Vincent Orange and Angie Gates, director of the D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development. The Shadowstone facility houses its showroom and rental department, as well as a brand-new light lab that will be used for product testing, demonstrations and workshops. The New Jersey-based Shadowstone has operated in the District for a number of years. Orange has worked to bring more film-production activity and jobs to the nation’s capital.

Onward Reserve
• March 27, 2015

Preppy and dressy casual men’s clothing store Onward Reserve plans to pop up soon at 1063 Wisconsin Ave. NW, the former address of the Pleasure Place, a enduring sex toy boutique (35 years). 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.

London’s West End Men’s Fashion Comes to Georgetown
• March 26, 2015

On March 20 and 21, Sterling & Burke, the stylish, upscale leather goods and specialty-gifts store on Pennsylvania Avenue, hosted “Bespoke: Jermyn Street Comes to Washington, D.C.” The trunk show featured London’s West End tailors Benson & Clegg, shirtmakers Budd and shoemakers Foster & Son.

Four Seasons GM Departs
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General manager Dirk Burghartz has departed the Four Seasons Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue to run a Four Seasons resort in Dallas. His successor will be David Bernand, who worked at the Four Seasons in Georgetown previously. Bernand will be returning from the Four Seasons Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming