In recent months, long-existing businesses in Georgetown Square have closed or moved, and the trend seems to be to replace them with franchises or other large, customer-attractive businesses. With G-Square being such a popular hang out for students at lunch, will these changes make it more or less popular?


These changes started two years ago with the closing of Greenberg’s Bagels, but the most significant changes came this year with the departure of Boulevard Café and Blockbuster, the addition of Chipotle Mexican Grill and the upcoming opening of the first Maryland location of Flippin’ Pizza. Most recently, the Bean Bag left G-Square for a new, larger location in Rockville on East Gude Drive, which the owner describes as a move towards growth and expansion.

“[The new location] is awesome,” said Bean Bag owner Mitchell Wool. “It’s two and a half times the size we had at Georgetown Square, with a full kitchen. It’s got everything going for it, except Walter Johnson right behind it.”

Wool accounts their departure to a need for more space and a lower rent.

According to G-Square project manager Kevin Rogers of K3 Construction Group, which has worked on G-Square in the past and will continue to, the reason so many businesses are leaving is simply that their leases ran out, and the owners did not want to renew them, possibly because of the sate of the economy.

Rogers says that upcoming changes include the cleaners leaving and being replaced with another, and a remodel of Hamburger Hamlet. Construction of Flippin’ Pizza is scheduled to begin May 1, with the restaurant likely to open six to eight weeks later, and the remodel of Hamlet should begin soon thereafter.

The owners of G-Square are trying to upgrade the shopping center so that it draws in more customers, which accounts for the introduction of such places as Chipotle and Flippin’ Pizza rather than more small or privately-owned businesses. The spaces that Blockbuster and Bean Bag occupied have not yet been rented and so it is unknown whether the new establishments will tie in with the theme of large businesses.

While a majority of WJ students seem enthusiastic about the introduction of Chipotle, many students are upset by the Bean Bag’s departure. At lunch, the small coffee shop attracted lines out the door and students could be found there before, after and even during classes.

“It’s really sad that they’re gone,” said junior Julia Haymore. “It was a great place to go for breakfast before school, and I loved the family-esque feeling of knowing everyone who works there.”