Viyas Sundaram Touts ‘Experiences’ at GMS Coffee & Community
By • February 19, 2026 0 358
Viyas Sundaram was the keynote speaker at Georgetown Main Street’s Coffee & Community on Feb. 12 at 1310 Kitchen & Bar. He is the visionary behind Xperience Holdings, which includes Fountain Inn and Bourbon Concierge.
Sundaram shared the ethos behind his growing hospitality group with business leaders. His mission, he explained, is to create experiences that tantalize all five senses and foster meaningful connection. Through his ventures, he aims to inspire younger generations and neighbors to feel as deeply connected to Georgetown as he does.
“Has anyone here seen ‘Pulp Fiction?’ ” Sundaram asked. “There’s a character in the movie called the Wolf—I’m the wolf for software as service companies.”
When a founder does something bad or doesn’t fulfill the investor’s goals, Sundaram is the one that comes in and as he said, “cleans it up, turns it around and gets it sold.”
Sundaram became a Georgetown resident in 2006 and met the love of his life, Samantha. He shared that what made him truly appreciate Georgetown was his newborn daughter being born in the neighborhood.
“She would not sleep, and we would put her in a stroller and walk down M Street and she’d finally pass out at Bourbon Steak,” he said. “We’d have a glass of wine every day that we were not working.”
It became an introduction to Georgetown and appreciating everything around them, like the coffee brewing from Dean & DeLuca and cobblestones under their feet.
He shared stories about a trip to Europe with his two daughters, and how walking across the Charles Bridge in Prague reminded one of his girls of walking into Georgetown and crossing over the Canal Bridge and into the energy of M Street.
“It made me realize that all those sensory journeys that we experienced all over the world are right here in Georgetown,” he said.
Sundaram also spoke about how development in Europe is very different from the U.S. Americans tend to think more about costs for land and building, whereas Europeans start from a perspective of exchange. They ask questions like how to put in the right café, retail, and more to get people to come and do social, intellectual and romantic exchanges? Then, they build apartments or office buildings around it.
“It’s deliberately around exchange,” he said.
Sundaram also spoke about digital warfare, saying how consumers are engaged before they even set foot in a store. This is done through social media, pay per clicks and the like.
“How do we feed the AI engine to drive the right information there and not let the machine learning create its own version of what this amazing experience here is,” he said. “The experience here in Georgetown is unique to us.”
Sundaram recently acquired 1048 Wisconsin Ave. NW, affectionately known as “the old Patagonia building.” He shared a vision for activating the space as an innovative concept with the potential to bring fresh visibility and intrigue to Georgetown, while also creating opportunities to spotlight and support small businesses in new ways.
Coffee & Community is organized by Georgetown Main Street and is open to business owners, managers and community leaders interested in strengthening relationships and building a more connected Georgetown.
Read more about Viyas Sundaram, who was the subject of November 2025 Georgetowner cover story, here.
Amy Gleklen, Rain Holt, Melanie Hayes and Emma Duffy at Georgetown Main Street’s Coffee & Community on Feb. 12 at 1310 Kitchen & Bar. Photo by Robert Devaney.
