News & Politics

Sallie Lewis •

On a sunny, spring afternoon, Iraklis Karabassis sits in his office at 3238 Prospect Street. Light floods in through an open window. Faint, soothing sounds of a cocktail shaker emanate from Peacock Café across the street. Fittingly, the fashion-focused Karabassis is well dressed, polished-yet-effortless in dark jeans and a striped button-down. His outward sophistication reflects the sharp mind and business savvy for which he is known.

“Georgetown has stolen my heart,” said the former owner of the Benetton at Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, among many other Benetton stores, including the first-ever U.S. store in the former White Flint Mall.

Karabassis has traveled the United States and the globe extensively as head of IK Retail Group, a premier fashion retailer. But it’s his place in Georgetown that he returns to time after time.
“Thirty-two years after being here, don’t ask me why, but I love Georgetown,” he said of its village-like atmosphere. “I still find this uniqueness and mystique. If you live it, then you get it.”
Although his fondness for Georgetown is undeniable, Karabassis has concerns for its future.

On any walk down M Street, residents and visitors alike can witness the burgeoning presence of large mono-brands, such as H&M and Forever 21. For Karabassis, this raises the question of whether Georgetown is at risk of losing its homegrown charm and entrepreneurial spirit.

“We lost our momentum,” he said of Georgetown. “We became old and not innovative anymore.” He attributes this to the restrictions of the neighborhood, including high rents, limited parking and the difficulty in attaining a liquor license, all of which detract people from investing in local businesses.

“Everything starts, and ends, with the level of the investment,” he said, saying that Georgetown needs to attract the attention of innovative minds again and bring novelty back to the neighborhood. “We have to raise the bar.”

With their massive production, the mono-brands and their large, glitzy stores are certainly putting pressure on the market, while displacing more and more of the small boutiques run by creative, self-driven individuals. These small boutiques are what Karabassis believes keep the market interesting.

The neighborhood’s high rents may be one reason for this shift, but it’s also the fault of the consumer, he said. Many people today are looking for fast, disposable fashion — that is, stylish, trendy clothes at low prices. It’s about quickness of production and affordable price points — at the cost of creative quality and attention to detail. But, “the customer likes it, and we have to respect that,” says Karabassis.
Furthermore, the age of e-commerce has revolutionized the shopping experience, making it more convenient than ever for people to purchase their favorite clothes and accessories. Brick-and-mortar shops are suffering because educated, fashion-forward customers know they can shop their favorite brands online at a range of competitive price points, he said.

Even in the malls, Karabassis claims that the fashion factor has faded considerably, replaced by shops filled with teenager clothing, ice cream, cosmetics and Starbucks coffee. “Today, buying clothes is the last thing you think of when you go to the mall,” he said.

He recalled how the mall on M Street, Shops at Georgetown Park, was once “the jewel of Georgetown.” Now, lamentably, he added, it’s been “converted into big boxes.”

As president and CEO of IK Retail Group, Karabassis focuses on international brand management and development in the American marketplace. Over the past three decades, he has grown an impressive, far-reaching business with roots in Georgetown. Yet his familial roots reach far eastward.

Karabassis was born in the picturesque port city of Volos, Greece. After studying and majoring in geology in Italy, he moved to Paris for post-graduate work, where he became involved with the clothing brand United Colors of Benetton. It was there that he was tasked with bringing the brand to the United States.

By 2008, Karabassis had opened more than 100 Benetton stores in the U.S. and Canada. In March 2008, before the last recession, he sold his Benetton operation to the Benetton Group in Italy — an example of both his lifelong relationship with luck, and his ability to grab an opportunity when it presents itself.

Over the years, Karabassis also expanded the luxury Italian brand MaxMara, adding a number of American stores to its portfolio before selling his stake in May 2008.

As these two major sales went through, Karabassis made IK Retail Group the center of his business. He became increasingly focused on consulting for European retailers in the United States, representing different brands while helping to boost sales, control costs and strategically increase exposure nationwide.

“America is very difficult for Europeans to succeed,” said Karabassis with a trace of his Greek accent. “It’s very competitive, and everyone wants to be here.” The entrepreneur, who speaks four languages — Greek, French, Italian and English — is smart and sought after. He has built his career on proven results. If one is looking to enter the U.S. market, he is the man to call.

Karabassis helps clients of all backgrounds looking to penetrate the American market, and he is selective because he can be. With three decades of industry experience and expertise, he has created a reputation among Europe’s fashion community, gaining their trust by proving he’s adept at scouting trends, finding smart locations and making strong contacts that will help them succeed.

With the help of his team at IK Retail Group, including his wife and vice president of retail, Yasmine Karabassis, he is able to select clients with strong potential who need help entering or expanding in the United States. The team strategizes with clients on short- and long-term goals while managing myriad logistics: branding, personnel, store design, marketing, accounting and advertising, plus warehousing and distribution. It’s a complete package.

From 2008 to today, IK Retail Group’s portfolio has been filled with unique brands, from Piazza Sempione to K16, Leghilà, Freddy, Andrew’s Ties and Billionaire Italian Couture. The latter label, the work of two talented businessmen named Angelo Galasso and Flavio Briatore, features handmade, luxury menswear. Though not for everyone, everything in the brand is meticulously made, the aesthetic of which is a mix of Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Tom Ford, according to Karabassis.

Most recently, Karabassis partnered with Kiko Milano, an Italian cosmetics company expanding aggressively here in the U.S. The Greek entrepreneur has been tasked with finding all of their new locations and properly guiding the brand in America; for 2015 alone, Kiko Milano is set to open 30 new stores, totaling 150 by 2017, including one in Tysons Corner.

Though IK Retail Group works mostly through partnerships, it also owns retail concepts outright. One of these is called Emporium DNA, a multi-branded fashion retailer for men and women that has been a successful tool for market testing, with both domestic and international brands. It has three store locations: the Yale University campus in New Haven, the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas and 1666 Connecticut Ave. NW, near Dupont Circle.

In a career that has seen much success, two of the entrepreneur’s greatest accomplishments came with the development of the Collection at Chevy Chase and the Miami-based project, 1111 Lincoln Road. The Chevy Chase endeavor was one of the premier luxury retail developments in the nation, and Karabassis had a central role, as both a consultant, and in developing and leasing out the shops. In Florida, Karabassis worked with the internationally renowned Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron to transform and reimagine a mixed-use development project adjacent to the Lincoln Road Mall in Miami. “It was one of the most exciting moments for me,” Karabassis said of the job. “It’s really one of the top projects in America.”

Another arena in which Karabassis’s entrepreneurial spirit can still be strongly felt and seen is the restaurant industry.

In November 1992, he and Franco Nuschese opened Café Milano on Prospect Street. The celebrity-frequented Italian restaurant is one of the most famous in Washington — to see and be seen.
While Karabassis sold his share of Café Milano to Nuschese in 2012, he continues to flavor D.C.’s fast-growing culinary scene with Sette Osteria, his Italian restaurant located at 1666 Connecticut Ave. NW.

This April, Karabassis opened the second Sette restaurant — the former Café M, at 1634 14th St. NW — under the same name, but with a slightly different look. At a recent tasting dinner at the new location, guests dined on a sampling of creative dishes: creamy burrata with tricolor tomatoes, homemade pastas like spinach gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce, a saffron risotto with juicy beef short ribs and homemade tiramisu — bellissima!

In Italian, Sette translates to the number seven, which is often regarded as the world’s lucky number. Perhaps Karabassis can attribute a small bit of luck and timing to his success, but it’s the methodical, strategic approach to his work that drives his good fortune. His commitment to unique, expressive brands has never wavered, and he’s proven his success in a time of change.
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Robert Devaney •

“The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Carol Stuart Watson, the Nation’s Capital Illustrator” was the name of Marjorie Young’s lecture about her mother, Carol Stuart Watson, at the Georgetown Public Library June 13.

For the Georgetowner — which recently marked its 60th anniversary — Young was telling a story close to its heart and its beginning in 1954, when her mother Carol Stuart, an artist, editor and writer, helped founding publisher Ami Stewart create the look of the iconic newspaper for the oldest neighborhood in Washington, D.C.

“To say my mother had a lifelong love affair with Georgetown and its colonial neighbors would be an understatement,” Young said. She arrived at Georgetown Hospital on August 14, 1931, the eldest of seven children born to Dr. Leander Scales Stuart and Henrietta Christine Kreh Stuart.

By 1954, Stuart was at the brand-new Georgetowner Newspaper. “Those days at the Georgetowner, my mother told me, were the happiest time in her life,” Young said.

In 1960, Carol and David Watson founded Carriage Trade Publications, which was located under the Whitehurst Expressway next to the old coal power plant.

“They befriended and did business with the owners of many of the finest shops and restaurants in Georgetown and across the region,” Young recalled. “Mom used her considerable talents to teach their many customers how to build comprehensive brand image campaigns. She had a terrific influence on the visual brand language of the entire area. She designed the shapes, colors, materials, finishes, typography and composition which directly and subliminally communicated the personality of the District.”

For Young, her June trip was an emotional return to Washington after so many years. She could see and feel her mother’s writing in Georgetown, she said.

The Georgetowner still possesses copies of the Federalist-antique-style map of Georgetown that is seen in homes around town. It was drawn by Carol Stuart Watson, who with her husband papered the city with maps, posters, dining guides, calendars and Christmas cards. She drew the first images of the pandas for the National Zoo. She illustrated children’s books, drew murals in building lobbies and worked at Johns Hopkins’s Applied Physics Laboratory. Watson died of lung cancer in 1986.

“I think one of the most remarkable things about my mother is that she accomplished all of this by age 54,” Young said. “She accumulated a long list of achievements in her short time on this earth, and she left an indelible imprint on her beloved community, that rippled out across the District and throughout the nation. … I’ll always think of her as a loving wife and the most incredible mother, but I’ll also remember mom as a prolific artist, a superb photographer and as a person who simply appreciated beauty in everything: music, flowers, nature, family. Mom was as sensitive as any lens in a camera.” [gallery ids="102120,133783" nav="thumbs"]

Peter Murray •

UN Women, a body designated by the United Nations to support the empowerment of women around the globe, announced Thursday that Georgetown University has joined the HeforShe movement and outlined specific steps the school will take to push for gender equality within its walls and beyond.

A number of other multinational corporations, such as Twitter and Vodafone, as well as international universities, including Oxford and Stony Brook University, have also pledged to forward the movement, launched with a powerful speech from actor Emma Watson on feminism that went viral last year.

According to Time Magazine, Georgetown University President John DeGioia committed to advancing gender equality “through research compiled by Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace & Security, which will soon unveil a new study on women’s political participation in ending conflict.” In addition, G.U. recently instituted a new education program on campus to help faculty and students better identify harassment and sexual misconduct.

Georgetown is joining the fold as a part of the UNWomen’s IMPACT 10x10x10 initiative, which engages 10 leaders each from three sectors — public, private and academia — in the organization’s broader push for gender equality. The organization announced the first five leaders from the private sector and academia, respectively, to make commitments to the HeforShe movement earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. G.U. was already technically involved in the movement, coordinating with early pledge-taker Tupperware Brands to conduct research on how women’s confidence affects their economic success.

Georgetown and Stony Brook are the only American academic institutions involved in the initiative, with other schools represented hailing from all over the world.

Other commitments made include Barclays’ pledge to provide 2.5 million women around the world with financial programs, Oxford University’s expansion of its “Good Lads” workshops on consent for men on sports teams and in social clubs, and the University of Sao Paolo’s implementation of a zero-tolerance policy in dealing with on-campus violence against women. (The University of Buenos Aires and the Autonomous University of Mexico have joined the University of Sao Paolo’s efforts.)

UN Women and HeforShe have yet to announce commitments from 10 public sector leaders that would further gender equality.

Kelly Byrnes • June 18, 2015

Navigating a festival lineup can be hard, especially for an event as expansive as DC Jazz Festival. Here are some of The Georgetowner’s picks for this weekend:

Notable shows to catch include vocalist-guitarist duo Gretchen Parlato and Lionel Loueke performing at Bohemian Caverns on U Street at 7:30 p.m. on June 11, soulful singer Alison Crockett on June 12 at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage at 6:00 p.m., and The Bad Plus Joshua Redman. The latter artist–a trio comprised of pianist Ethan Iverson, drummer David King, and bassist Reid Anderson—brings along saxophonist Joshua Redman for their June 12 performance at The Hamilton Live. It should be noted that the 8:30 p.m. show is sold out of seated tickets, with standing room only tickets available.

The weekend’s lineup is an exciting one, as Hecht Warehouse is hosting the Ernest Khabeer Dawkins Orchestra and the Organix Trio, comprised of flutist Nicole Mitchell, cellist Tomeka Reid, and drummer Mike Reed, in celebration of AACM’s 50th birthday on June 13. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.

Also June 13 is the jam-packed line-up of Marshall Keys, Femi Kuti & The Positive Force, and Grammy award-winners Esperanza Spalding and Common performing at the Yards Park from 3:00-10:00 p.m.

Seven-member band The Cookers performs an 8:00 p.m. show June 14 at Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, bringing both charisma and generational experience to their showmanship.

Alto saxophonist Bruce Williams takes stage at UDC, along with the school’s jazz program director Allyn Johnson and the UDC Jazztet for a 7:00 p.m. show on June 15.

The D.C. Jazz Festival runs from June 10-16, featuring over 125 performances at 40 different venues. See the full event schedule here.

Georgetowner •

Thursday Night Rock

June 11th, 2015 at 10:00 PM | $10 | tbarnes@entertainmentdc.com | Tel: 301-441-8899, Ext. 5 | Event Website

The popular rock band Nexus will headline “Thursday Night Rock”, a new weekly concert debuting on June 4, 11, 18 and 25 (every Thursday) at the historic Fire Station 1, 8131 Georgia Ave. in downtown Silver Spring, Md. The band will perform rock/pop classics and originals from 8-11 p.m. on June 4; 10 p.m.-1 a.m. on June 11; 10 p.m.-1 a.m. on June 18; and 8-11 p.m. on June 25. Admission is $10 at the door. For more information, call (301) 441-8899, Ext. 5 or visit www.NexusRockBand.com.

Address

8131 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910

“Weird Al” Yankovic

June 12th, 2015 at 08:00 PM | Event Website

Fueled by clever, zany lyrics, this parody master transforms pop hits from Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” to Lorde’s “Royals” into hilarious, new renditions.

Address

Filene Center; 1551 Trap Road; Vienna, VA 22812

Ritz-Carlton: Kids Carnival

June 13th, 2015 at 11:00 AM | $65 | aba@taapr.com

The Kids Carnival is the perfect way to kick-off summer for the entire family as guests are invited to indulge in the luxe experience complete with an extensive buffet featuring everyone’s favorite carnival treats including funnel cakes, cotton candy, sliders, chili-dogs and more. Experience a high-energy carnival performance by the South Riding Dance Academy that dazzles and delights with its Ringmaster, lion tamers, clowns, acrobatic duet, and showgirls on pointe.

Address

1700 Tysons Blvd; McLean Virginia

Historic Gay DC Walking Tour

June 13th, 2015 at 10:00 AM | Free | Tel: (202) 670-7470 | Event Website

In the 1960s, the Dupont Circle area was a center of antiwar activism and the counterculture, an environment in which many of the young gay and lesbian activists of the 1970s learned the tactics of protest. In the 1970s and ’80s, Dupont Circle became the center of Washington, DC, gay life. Join in on this walking tour highlighting bars, homes, and protest spots that have played a significant role in the experiences of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities of Washington, DC.
Address

Meet at Q and 20th STs

Reading from “Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs” by Sally Mann

June 14th, 2015 at 02:00 PM | Free | Event Website

In this presentation at the National Gallery of Art, acclaimed photographer Sally Mann reads from her revealing memoir and family history, Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs. In this groundbreaking book, a unique interplay of narrative and image, Mann’s preoccupation with family, race, mortality, and the storied landscape of the American South are described as almost genetically predetermined, written into her DNA by the family history that precedes her.

Address

East Building Atrium; 4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW

Cathedral Sings! Mozart Requiem

June 14th, 2015 at 07:30 PM | $10 | lsheridan@cathedral.org | Tel: 202-537-2228 | Event Website

Join us for a community sing-along of Mozart’s Requiem at Washington National Cathedral! Led by Cathedral Choral Society Music Director J. Reilly Lewis with Todd Fickley at the organ. Singers of all abilities are welcome! Tickets are $10; scores provided.

Address

Washington National Cathedral; 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW

Robert Devaney •

Georgetown University bid farewell to Lauralyn Lee, its associate vice president for community engagement and strategic initiatives, June 4 with a reception at historic Riggs Library. Well-wishers presented her with a plaque that holds a brick from the Georgetown neighborhood and a brick from Healy Hall, connected by a rope: “for bringing together Georgetown University and the Georgetown Community — forever tied together as one!”

At Georgetown for 13 years, Lee worked on the recent campus plan that resolved many issues and created the Georgetown Community partnership, a standing group of university administrators, students, community leaders and residents. But Lee won’t be going too far away. She is continuing her work as consultant and remains in town.

Kelly Byrnes Robert Devaney •

Circulator Bus Now Runs Through National Mall

Navigating the National Mall is now made easier with a new Circulator bus route catering to the area, which launched June 14. The tourist-friendly route, which begins at Union Station, has 15 stops near main attractions, including the U.S. Capitol, National Gallery of Art, Lincoln Memorial and Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

“The DC Circulator’s expansion is a win for the District, its residents and visitors. This route will provide people with greater access to the nation’s most iconic monuments, memorials and museums while boosting economic activity in the District,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser upon announcement of the route.

The latest Circulator route marks the city’s sixth overall, featuring buses running every 10 minutes for a $1 fare. Weekday service runs from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. while weekend hours of service are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In: Hop, Cask & Barrel on Wisconsin Avenue

There’s new wine in an old bottle. Hops, Cask & Barrel has opened 1717 Wisconsin Ave. NW, occupying the former space of Wagner’s Liquors. The business is associated with Sherry’s Liquor of Woodley Park on Connecticut Avenue. Ryan Wegman, director of wine and outreach for the store, sent the Georgetowner an introduction: “HCB serves the liquid geek — a craft beer selection beyond predictable names (Deschutes and multiple growler taps), to wines outside the large labels already available (and classified growths for the connoisseur), and eclectic spirits no one carries, but we’ve imported directly (Brennivin!) or negotiated an allocation above everyone else’s (Pappy!) — hopcaskandbarrel. com.”

Out: Washington Post Shuts Down Gazette Newspapers

“The Gazette newspapers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties will print their final editions June 17 and 18 after more than 55 years of publishing,” reports the Washington Post. The Gazette, which began publishing in 1959, had a weekly circulation of half a million five years ago. According to Post Community Media, part of the Washington Post Company, the closing eliminates 69 jobs, including those of 12 reporters and two photographers by Aug. 11, with the required 60day notice given to employees.

Davis Kennedy, publisher of D.C.’s Current community newspapers, bought the Gaithersburg
Gazette in 1979 and built a group of Montgomery County papers under the Gazette banner that he sold to the Washington Post Company in 1993. The Prince Georges edition began in 1997. According to Post blogger Eric Wemple, Kennedy said he made an offer for the Gazette papers through a broker but was rejected; however, a Post spokesperson told Wemple they had no record of the offer.

Cats Roam at Crumbs & Whiskers

“U Got to Be Kitten Me.” (Yeah, we just wrote that quotation down, too.) The preview parties have already begun for Crumbs & Whiskers, Georgetown’s cat cafe at 3211 O St. NW, which officially opens June 20. Owner Kanchan Singh, and her friends and family, have fixed up the place with advisories on the wall, such as “Be gentle with cats” and “No flash photography.” Partnering with the cafe, the Washington Humane Society will provide vaccinated and vetted cats to Crumbs & Whiskers, which will act as a foster home for the cats until they are adopted. Crumbs & Whiskers is the city’s first cat café.

Man & Woman of the Year

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society hit a record-breaking $1,810,930 at its annual Man and Woman of the Year gala, held June 13 at the J.W. Marriott. Man and Woman of the Year honors went to Kevin Rohalmin and Katie Simmons Hickey.

Peter Murray • June 12, 2015

Public policy professor Emad Shahin has been sentenced to death in Egypt along with 35 others on charges of espionage. Luckily for him, he’s safe in Washington, acting as a visiting professor at Georgetown University.

The death sentences, which Shahin called “unprecedented,” were handed down by the Cairo Criminal Court in response to criticism of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who rose to power in July 2013 in a military coup.

Shahin said he first heard of the charges being weighed against him through a stranger’s message over Facebook. Shahin was roped into the espionage case because he was cc’ed on a number of emails that the court claims discussed undermining Egyptian power with agents of Hamas and Iranian nationals.

The professor left Egypt in January 2014 and maintains his innocence. Shahin told Vice News, “The judicial context and the political environment in general is not conducive to a fair trial and due process [in Egypt].” Shahin argued that Sisi is “treating Egypt as an extension of the army and not the other way around.” He also said the trial are a “sham” and that Sisi’s reign resembles that of Hosni Mubarak or Saddam Hussein.

The Cairo Criminal Court proceedings have also been called into question by the U.S. State Department and Amnesty International, among other foreign policy players. Unsurprisingly, the Egyptian government has defended the trials as fair and called international criticism “an unacceptable intrusion into the work of the Egyptian judicial system.”

Shahin plans to take on the role of activist at the end of this semester. “I wanted to be viewed as an academic and scholar solely but this is too much,” he told Vice, adding, “they are acting on their madness so they have to be stopped, that’s what I am trying to do.”