This story is part of the Voice’s Alumni Interview series.
Georgetown alum Geoff Tracy (CAS ’95), founder and owner of the D.C.-based restaurant group behind Chef Geoff’s, plans to open a third location on Georgetown’s expanding Capitol Campus within the next year.
The new venture, Chef Geoff’s Downtown, will be a 175-seat restaurant featuring a large bar and expansive patio on New Jersey Avenue with views of the Capitol dome. It plans to accept Capitol Campus Dining Dollars and Debit Dollars, and will be open to the public.
Tracy said the new location at 111 Massachusetts Avenue, home to the School of Continuing Studies, reflects both his deep ties to Georgetown and lessons learned operating restaurants in a city shaped by economic shifts and policy debates. Despite his success, Tracy said his career path was not always linear.
“I do have this sort of mantra, I call it ‘infinite adaptability,’” Tracy said.
Originally from Connecticut, Tracy said Georgetown had always been his dream school. He began in what was then the Georgetown School of Business (now the McDonough School of Business), but soon transferred to the College to study theology.
On campus, Tracy served as general manager of The Corp’s Vital Vittles, where he gained early experience in operations and team management. He also met his wife, Norah (CAS ’95, GRAD ’03, HON ’24), during his first week on campus.
“My Vittles experience, on top of finding my wife, are probably the two most influential things that occurred to me in my four years at Georgetown,” Tracy said.
Still, he had little sense of what career he would pursue after graduation.
“The number of visits to the Career Center was zero in my four years at Georgetown,” Tracy said. “I got to my senior year and had friends who were like, ‘I’m going to go work for JP Morgan,’ and I’m like, ‘Who’s JP Morgan?’”
After graduation, Tracy embarked on what he described as a “personal voyage,” biking from California to Florida in hopes of clearing his head and finding his path.
“I did not discover anything other than that I was very sore,” he said.
Upon his return to D.C., Tracy ran into an old friend, Tom Meyer, on M Street. Then-corporate chef, and eventual president of Clyde’s Restaurant Group, Meyer agreed to lunch with Tracy, offered industry advice, and helped connect him with entry-level roles at local restaurants to gain experience. Tracy ultimately followed in his mentor’s footsteps, enrolling at the Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated first in his class.
He returned to the District to work as a sous chef and a dining room manager before Meyer encouraged Tracy to go out on his own.
With $5,000, Tracy opened the original Chef Geoff’s on New Mexico Avenue in 2000. This summer will mark his 26th year owning and operating the location.
In that time, Tracy says he has faced the challenges that come with owning restaurants in Washington, including the dot-com bubble burst, the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks, and the 2008 financial crisis.
The COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 halted the restaurant industry, forcing Tracy to lay off his entire staff.
“The following day, I said, ‘Okay, time to rebuild.’” He rehired 15 employees and repurposed some restaurant locations into small neighborhood markets selling essentials like wine, milk, chicken, hand sanitizer, bleach, and masks, while keeping others closed.
Most recently, Tracy has been forced to employ his “infinite adaptability” mantra in response to evolving regulations and policies that could reshape business models across the District.
He noted that the upcoming mayoral primary and initiatives to raise the minimum wage to $25 and eliminate the tipped wage illustrate how quickly local policies can impact restaurants.
“It’s like you wake up one day and a policy changes,” Tracy said, “You have to find a way to adapt, which is okay. I’ve been able to do it.”
Despite his busy schedule and successful ventures, Tracy’s presence on campus has not faded. For the past nine years, Chef Geoff’s has become a culinary backbone for the Jesuit Order at Georgetown living on campus in Wolfington Hall, serving the Jesuits “three meals a day, 365 days a year.”
He often returns to campus for alumni panels, sharing advice with students. He recalled one such hospitality-centered panel where he advised students to build diverse, broad menus to appeal to everyone. After the event, three seniors approached him with a different idea.
“They were like, ‘Hey, we’re doing a senior class project, and we’re doing it on a restaurant that serves salad.’ And I was like, ‘Salad and what else?’ And they’re like, ‘Salad,’” Tracy said.
Laughing as he recounted the story, Tracy, who was skeptical of the concept, wished them luck with their project. Those students later went on to found Sweetgreen.
“There’s going to be a bunch of people who tell you that your idea is not a great idea, but if you think your idea is a great idea, just do everything you can to make it happen,” Tracy said.
For Tracy, a key to success is a willingness to embrace discomfort. He encourages students to push themselves, recalling how he started out as a sauté cook unsure of his skills, and gradually gained confidence. He then repeatedly placed himself in new, challenging roles to keep growing.
“If you’re super comfortable, then you’re probably not stretching yourself quite as hard,” Tracy said.
As Tracy prepares to open his newest venture on Georgetown’s Capitol Campus, he will once again lean into that adaptability. The project is a full-circle moment for the theology major-turned-restaurateur.
“It’ll be nice to have an alum doing it there. The design we’re working through right now looks awesome,” Tracy said. “I’m really hoping to activate that community.”
