Georgie’s brings coastal flavors to the Square

Georgie’s, a coastal restaurant serving fresh seafood, opened this summer on the Georgetown Square in the former Barrel’s and Amps space. 

Georgie’s is owned by Matt Luckie, Mike Farr and Shane Stark. Mr. Stark is the chef and owner of Mongers, a high-end seafood restaurant in Austin. Mr. Luckie owns several bars in Austin with his company FBR Management Group, including Austin-mainstays like Mean Eyed Cat, Star Bar, Lala’s Little Nugget, Gibson Street Bar and others. He said he had been trying to open something in Georgetown for five years. 

“I just fell in love with the downtown,” Mr. Luckie said. “Everyone you meet — it’s a great little community, very supportive. You walk around and have a drink. I mean, where [else] is that possible?” 

Mr. Luckie has been friends with Mr. Stark for more than 20 years, and noticed there wasn’t a seafood place in Georgetown similar to Mongers. 

“What Georgetown didn't really have is his menu,” Mr. Luckie said. “In Georgetown there's Mexican, there’s a lot of burgers, but there wasn't anything with a little seafood and some oysters in there.” 

Mr. Stark said he leaned in the Southern direction when he started composing the menu. Dishes include steak, chile-dusted red fish and green beans with bacon bits. The red fish entree, a Southern classic, has been well received, he said. 

The menu also offers sake-roasted sea bass and tuna poke tacos. These fusion dishes have been some of the top selling items. 

The space has a large bar that seats about 20 people, so the menu offers finger foods such as oysters, ceviche, pimento cheese and hushpuppies. 

They are still trying to “gauge the desires” of the neighborhood before adding a wider variety of things on the menu, Mr. Stark explained. Customers have been ordering a wide variety of dishes, making it difficult to predict what will sell out. He added that seafood sourcing is complicated by weather and supply conditions. 

The recent remodel “brightened” the space by exposing the limestone, said Brandon Sanchez, area manager for FBR Management Group. Dark wooden booths were replaced with open, high-top seating, and the wooden bar was swapped for a white counter top. 

“I like to say it all the time — the space is sexy,” Mr. Sanchez said, although he noted that casual attire is appropriate for diners. Mr. Luckie said he wouldn’t have opened a restaurant if he wasn’t partnered with Mr. Stark. 

“There’s more moving parts in restaurants,” he said. “Liquor doesn’t go bad, food does.” 

Mr. Luckie also explained customers’ have lower expectations when they visit a casual bar than when they visit a high end restaurant. Georgie's customer satisfaction rate is pretty high, he said. 

They made it a point to have Georgie’s stay open until 10 p.m. on most weeknights so “the restaurant people” in Georgetown would have a place to grab a drink after work. He said it is important for this group to have a place to network. 

Currently, Georgie’s is open during happy hour and dinner on weekdays, with Saturday lunch. Mr. Luckie said the team plans to gradually extend hours and is working on a Sunday brunch menu. “We want to roll it out methodically, slowly, to where everybody's still giving us really good feedback,” Mr. Luckie said.

Georgie’s
209 West Eighth Street
512-537-5093
https://georgiesgtx.com
There’s no dress code, but reservations are recommended.