Geoffrey Dawson Email & Phone Number

Geoffrey Dawson is no stranger to the Washington D.C. area. Born and raised in the heart of the Nation’s Capital, Geoff has designed, built and operated more than 30 nightlife spots during the past 25 years. He mixes equal parts passion and creativity while imagining and developing unique neighborhood venues. This approach lead him to join with Peter Bayne and create a next-generation bar management group-- Tin Shop.His journey in the D.C. bar business began in 1992, when Geoff, then a residential contractor, designed, built and opened Bedrock Billiards in Adams Morgan. This little neighborhood bar is still thriving and remains his sentimental favorite. After the success of Bedrock Billiards, Geoff continued to create and open other establishments such as Atomic Billiards, Buffalo Billiards (DC, Nashville, Philadelphia, Gaithersburg, MD and Austin, TX), Carpool and Mackey’s. Each of these businesses stands alone, each with a unique identity, signature décor, and overall concept.In 2004 when the Verizon Center opened in downtown DC, Geoff and Bedrock Bars were brought in to open Velocity Grill, a 20,000 square foot venue within the Verizon Center. It lasted only a year. Having learned many valuable lessons from that failure, Geoff returned soon after to open RocketBar, Iron Horse, Penn Social and Jackpot within two blocks of the Verizon Center.Recent openings include Lost & Found and Tall Boy in Shaw DC and Astro Beer Hall just blocks from the White House. Next up, Quincy Hall in Ballston VA across from the original CarPool and Slice & Pie/LUCY in DC. With no plans of slowing down, Dawson is dedicated to creating establishments that are fun and neighborhood centered while also sharing his entrepreneurship journey through mentorship and teaching.

Listed skills include Restaurants, Marketing Strategy, Strategic Planning, Marketing, and 11 others.

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  Co-Founder

  Tin Shop

  2014 - Present - Washington, Dc

  We Build Bars! Tin Shop was founded by native Washingtonians Geoff Dawson & Peter Bayne to build the most forward-thinking and comfortable night spots in Washington DC and Virginia. Dawson & Bayne first worked together to salvage a failing business that was reborn as Penn Social, one of DC's busiest sports bars and event spaces. Since then they have embraced technology, comfort-first design and team building to form Tin Shop and open 6 more successful venues. Tin Shop Projects:Penn Social 2012-presentBig Chief 2014-2020Highline RxR 2015- presentSmoked & Stacked 2016- 2018Franklin Hall 2017-presentChurch Hall 2018-presentTall Boy 2019-presentAstro Beer Hall 2019-presentQuincy Hall opening 2020