Retail Notebook: Business is coming of age in quirky Georgetown

Georgetown is the kind of neighborhood that Capitol Hill used to be and perhaps still wishes it were: hard-edged, chic and, most important, not teeming with yuppies seeking the next Fremont-that-isn't-a-Fremont-populated-by-yuppies.

Despite a boom in housing prices in the neighborhood, it seems likely to stay that way -- to the contentment of its clannish denizens. Parking is too tight for too much retail development along the "the strip," a stretch of Airport Way South whose storefronts are unfurling, one by one, from their plywood cocoons.

Still, the business owners dotting the west side of that street have created a space for the plucky community of artists and tatted-up parents -- and anyone who fancies gift-worthy art, blown glass, pastries, sandwiches, pizza, a stiff drink or a cold beer.

And just as in Columbia City, Georgetown's retail is gaining a toehold in part because of popular restaurants such as Smarty Pants and Stellar Pizza, whose offerings qualify as best-of-class in the sandwich and pizza categories.

In some cases, the connection between restaurants and retail is even more direct. George -- an art gallery and gift shop -- was conceived in the neighboring Two Tartes Bakery as now-owners Holly Krejci and Kathy Nyland munched on the bakery's made-from-scratch comfort food.

"We were just sitting there, and they told us the space next door was available," Krejci said. "It was just like that."

Well, almost. The renovation took months; George opened by showing one artist in November 2004.


		Karen Ducey / P-I
	Holly Krejci shows off a ukulele, one of the products for sale in George, an art gallery and gift shop in Georgetown she co-owns with her partner, Kathy Nyland

It now sells more than two dozen artists' work, ranging from the shop's mainstay, a metal guard dog complete with dangling metal cojones, to naughty cards, industrial belts, paintings, jewelry and beauty products.

"We've been able to pay our rent and pay the artists, and that was the goal for the first year," Krejci said.

They were able to make it past the first year in part because retail rents in Georgetown are so low. One prominent landlord of 10 buildings, John Bennett, said his retail rents range from 50 cents to 75 cents per square foot for some of his larger warehouselike spaces, to between $1 and $2.50 per square foot in the smaller, more boutiquelike spaces.

Considering the contrast with Broadway, where landlords often ask for $30 per square foot, it seems no surprise that many of Georgetown's stores are run by Capitol Hill expatriates and first-time business owners without bank funding.

A corporate tenant along the strip is unlikely, at least in a building owned by Bennett, who sings the praises of the neighborhood gathering spot All City Coffee.

"Too much of Seattle is a Starbucks followed by a Tully's followed by this sushi joint or that sushi joint," Bennett said. "As long as I am in control of those buildings in Georgetown, that will never happen. I will never sell."

Bennett credits the affordability of the neighborhood to the exact factors that have also fostered its blight: industrial zoning and what he deems the "Georgetown as the default dumping ground" attitude on the part of the city government.

It is poor treatment for the historic neighborhood, which was settled in the 1850s, and even incorporated as the city of Georgetown from 1904 to 1910.

Despite the odds, Bennett says, it's important to preserve the neighborhood, because "there's not a whole lot left in Seattle like Georgetown. Once it's gone, it is unrecoverable."

And besides, he says, "I am a sucker for old buildings, so my goal is to keep it original."

Both he and Stellar Pizza owner Lisa "Stella" Steadmon agree that Georgetown's small-town atmosphere keeps everyone in the loop, which is handy when threats of new airports, dumping grounds, strip clubs and the like pop up on the radar.

Regardless of that annoyance, it seems to be part of what keeps the neighborhood together and distinct from Fremont or Belltown.

"Georgetown will never be Fremont because it is too noisy," said Steadmon, noting the sky-splitting aircraft landing at Boeing Field, the trains that chug and wail past the artist studios in the Rainier Cold Storage building and those artists' hammers and saws.

And frankly, Airport Way South isn't all that walkable, even if all the restaurants and shops do cluster together, Steadmon said, laughing that "if you don't get splashed by people driving by in big trucks, you're eating road grit."

Even so, Georgetown has created its own Art Walk, which begins at noon on the first Saturday of every month, currently subject to a determined revival effort.

Last year, it became very popular, only to fall off during the arrival of inclement weather.

Sustaining the local shops and restaurants during the low times are local businesses that have moved their headquarters to the area, drawn by the cheap rents.

Those include tech companies such as AuBeta Networks, advertising firms such as Don't Blink Agency and all of the wholesale manufacturers that have made south of Seattle their home.

Perhaps the most highly anticipated addition to the neighborhood will be coming to the old Forsythe Hotel building owned by Bennett, just south of George along Airport Way South.

In response to desperate pleas from residents, Bennett is trying to find a grocery market or a laundry to fill the 2,500square-foot space because "people do their shopping at Texaco's minimart."

"We have lots of bars," said Lynn Christiansen, the owner of Two Tartes.

"We are a neighborhood that needs a grocery store and a Laundromat."

To clear the way for a new tenant, Bennett is hosting an auction in the faded blue building at 10 a.m. Sunday to get rid of "35 years of stuff" (including old hotel furniture) that had collected in the ground-floor space.

Bennett said the reason for all the clutter was that "rent is so cheap there that people have used the storefronts for storage," even living in them.

That is changing with Georgetown's upswing in popularity.

Some residents of the up-and-coming community grumble that more outside visitors -- indications of the success of the neighborhood -- are a wry comeuppance for a spot famed for its fringe appeal.

Still, at least one business -- Stellar Pizza, opened in 2001 when Steadmon sold her house -- was funded by cashing in on Georgetown's economic growth.

"It still has its grittiness," said Steadmon of Georgetown's evolution.

"I am all about change and progress, and for the most part, people who own property are damned pleased."

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