Georgetown University’s graduation is changing; local businesses aren’t worried

Georgetown University may be moving some of its graduation festivities out of the neighborhood, but it’s business as usual for local stores and restaurants.

Georgetown University announced this month a new school-wide commencement ceremony to be held at Nationals Park, replacing its traditional senior convocation ceremony held on campus. The university’s announcement is not a concern for many Georgetown businesses.

Graduation season in May is a successful month for Georgetown businesses, said Rachel Shank, executive director of Georgetown Mainstreet.

As a result of the new commencement ceremony, Georgetown businesses may see fewer patrons during one day of the graduation weekend, said Erin Claire, general manager of The Tombs. But the restaurant does not foresee a severe change in its business, she added.

The Tombs opened in 1962 and has solidified itself as a part of the Georgetown University student experience, said Claire. As a longstanding fixture of the neighborhood, parents of students and alumni have fond memories of The Tombs that propel the restaurant’s flow of patrons during Georgetown University celebrations, she added.

“We’ve been a big part of the students’ lives the entirety of the time they’ve been here,” said Claire.

Ceremonies for Georgetown University individual schools will continue to be held on the school campus, and the neighborhood businesses will see foot traffic related to these, Claire said.

Celebrations and dinner reservations for graduating students and their families will likely be held close to the university campus, Shank added. Students and their families will have a more comfortable and spacious graduation experience at Nationals Park before they return to the neighborhood for further celebrations, Shank said.

She said she has faith and confidences in the pull of the neighborhood.

What’s more, the new commencement arrangement may benefit the neighborhood, she added. While Georgetown University graduation proceedings can help economic revenue in Georgetown, the area can get backed up.

The commencement ceremony at Nationals Park would help ease neighborhood congestion, but the remaining on-campus graduation ceremonies will still attract families of graduates to the area and encourage them to visit local businesses and restaurants, said Shank.

During Georgetown University graduation festivities, The Tombs seats about 500 to 700 customers a day, added Claire. This number is twice the usual daily average at the pub, she said.

If Georgetown University moved more of their graduation festivities off campus in the future, it could cause issues for businesses. But it’s unlikely that all the university graduation proceedings would leave the neighborhood entirely, said Claire.

Georgetown’s walkability and local businesses make the neighborhood a popular destination, said Claire.

The Georgetown Business Improvement District also predicts that many families will stay in the Georgetown area during graduation festivities, Lauren Boston, marketing and communications director at the Georgetown BID, said in an email to The Wash.

This is the case for Naomi Abramovitz, the mother of a soon-to-be Georgetown graduate.

Abramovitz said her family will rent an Airbnb in Georgetown, and their plans include visiting the local bookstores and restaurants in Georgetown.

The new commencement ceremony lacks the intimacy and history of the traditional senior convocation, Abramovitz said.

The university’s freshman convocation ceremony was a meaningful event, and Abramovitz said she was looking forward to the senior convocation. The convocation was a unique part of the school’s traditions, she added.

“I thought it was a lovely sort of two bookends of an important time in our children’s lives, but I guess we’re going to do something different,” Abramovitz said.

“They set up an expectation for us that now they’re not meeting,” said Ambramovitz.