George's closes doors for lunch, opens for events

A lone sign posted on the glass entrance to George's. The restaurant, once a frequented lunch spot for a dedicated group of faculty and staff, will now be a bookable venue for events. (Jenna Beaver)

The days to escape the hustle and bustle of the Johnson Center by finding reprieve in George's, the quiet third floor eatery, are over. Starting this semester, George's will be a bookable venue for events only.

According to a university bulletin, George's was forced to close due to a combination of limited hours and small seating availability. Now, the university will utilize the restaurant and rent it out for special events and conferences.

The space has already held events this semester, including events for homecoming and an 'eat and greet' between Student Government and the Fairfax City Council.

To accomodate former George's patrons, seating has increased in the Bistro, said Director of Retail Operations Bill Fry. Total seating capacity now sits at 214 seats, including a new community table and the addition of on-stage seating. The new tables and chairs located on the stage may look like a VIP-roped off area, but are open to everyone, said Fry.

The Bistro is open each weekday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

The full text of the message is posted below.

To: George Mason University Students, Faculty and Staff:

Effective January 24, 2011, George’s restaurant will not be re-opening for the spring semester.

Although George’s had a loyal customer base, the hours of availability and the small capacity issues made it impossible to justify the continued use of this space for the lunch only business. George’s could only feed about 100 of the over 21,000 guests per day that utilize our campus.

 

With the extreme shortage of meeting space on campus, the availability of this space to be booked for breakfast, lunch and dinner catered events will greatly benefit everyone. You can contact Events Management to book this terrific space for your catered event and meeting, for any time and any day of the week.

 

We want to thank all of our dedicated customers for their support and the opportunity to serve you at this location. Please know we will continue to honor all unexpired George’s free meal coupons and redeemable George’s frequent buyer cards at our Bistro location till the end of the spring semester.

 

If you have any additional questions, please contact:
Bill Fry, Director of Retail Operations
wfry@gmu.edu
703-638-9456