John Saleebey

John considers himself a true hospitality professional. Spanning nearly 35 years, his career has taken him from humble beginnings as a server at a small family-owned Tex-Mex restaurant in Pantego (that is remarkably still in business) to the Situation Room of the White House.

It didn’t take John long to realize that he not only had a knack for making people happy, but that he had a true passion for hospitality. Of course, in John’s words, “a lot of failure as a comedic/comic strip writer and the subsequent specter of starvation tend to push one in a certain direction.”

As a young manager frying hundreds of chicken fried steaks during a single shift, John would have never in his wildest dreams imagined that he would eventually become the Director of Operations running multiple units with an overall staff of nearly 80 employees.

During his career, John has written award-winning wine lists, received a DiRoNA award, and I has proudly led some of the best restaurants in Little Rock, Washington DC, Houston, and Corpus Christi.

As a General Manager and as a Director of Operations, John has had the honor of working with so many talented restaurateurs, chefs, and staff; truly amazing people that have taught him so much over the years.

And while he has some fond memories (and some amazing stories) of celebrity encounters, cold broccoli complaints, Presidential Inaugurations, and the event in the aforementioned Situation Room of the White House, John says he has never been more excited than he is to be back in Arlington and being a part of Chophouse Arlington…right where he belongs!