From the Jan 24 – Jan 30, 2002 issue

News

Southern Rock

Georgetown: It's Not Just For Hazardous Waste Anymore

by Amy Jenniges

On Saturday night, January 19, a few local bands--the Stuck-Ups, the Wannabees, and the Reckless Bastards--squeezed into a hip new nightspot and played to a 21-plus crowd. Capitol Hill? Belltown? Pioneer Square? Try Airport Way South in Georgetown.

Georgetown, a neighborhood squashed between I-5 and the Duwamish, Boeing Field and SoDo, has long struggled to find its identity. With airplanes roaring overhead, trucks rumbling by, and manufacturing fumes in the air, Georgetown seems more like an industrial park than a nighttime destination.

Though Georgetown's industrial vibe has deterred visitors--and has threatened to squeeze out the small population of residents, in favor of larger businesses--a few new gathering places have cropped up in the last year, signaling a turnaround that could transform the neighborhood. Indeed, low rents and unused space make Georgetown a haven for artists' studios, affordable apartments, and new small businesses catering to the arty crowd.

Industrial Coffee (motto: Georgetown's Not Dead, It's Just Industrial) is one of those new places. "There's not a lot of venues for little bands," co-owner Mike McCarthy says. "[The bands] don't have big names yet, but they want to play somewhere."

Suddenly, Georgetown is that somewhere. McCarthy has had so much interest from bands, he's extending live music to Monday nights.

"I love the atmosphere of these venues," says Meredith McGuire, bass guitarist for the Stuck-Ups. "People migrate to wherever it's happening, and these venues are bringing life into that block of Georgetown."

But longtime Georgetown business folks are cautious about comparing the area to other hip spots. Rob Adamson, president of the Georgetown Business Association, notes that most nearby restaurants are only open during the day, catering to Georgetown's influx of nearly 65,000 workers. The 1,500 or so neighborhood residents just aren't enough to support many evening restaurants and clubs, he says. He may be right--unless Georgetown's newfound hipness starts to pull in new residents along with the new visitors.

amy@thestranger.com