MARK JUDGE: ‘America’s Front Porch:’ When Georgetown was Great.

Things began to change in Georgetown during the 1990s and beyond. “In the 2000’s if I recall correctly,” Julie Wilson told me, “companies were lured away to Virginia with financial incentives that diminished lunch business for the restaurants. I would bet my life that most small business owners did not own their buildings and suffered the rent increases that were occurring. The prosperity earned by those who helped create a vibrant scene, who stuck their necks out and took the risks, were usurped by the greed of landlords who saw bigger profit margins. Hence the arrival of big, brand named stores found in any mall in the USA. Many of them are adios now.”

What the landlords didn’t kill the pandemic hysterics did, undermining businesses in Georgetown and boarding up storefronts. Wilson recently paid a visit to Georgetown for the first time in years: “During my recent tour of Georgetown, I observed boarded up storefronts on every block, some left vacant for years. Does this appear business-friendly, prosperous and productive?” It does not.

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