Atlanta & the Games...City

The Varsity

"Whatayahave Whatayahave Whatayahave Whatayahave Whatayahave Whatayahave," chants Varsity Erving and, in the same breath, he recites a menu that includes hamburgers, chilli dogs, onion rings, french fries, shakes, ice-creams, etc. The Varsity, located on North Avenue at the tip of the Olympic Village, was established in 1928. It is now Atlanta's popular fast-food joint. It even has a celebrity wall dedicated to its nation and city-wide fans. There are several reasons for which the Varsity has and will continue to be famed: it is called the "temple of carbo-loading" (The Atlanta Constitution, 6/27/96); Professor Robert Craig of Georgia Tech has calls the building a prime example of 1930's Streamlined Moderne; it has survived the wrecking balls that blew away most down-town buildings catering to the human scale; it is a place for which the Olympic Torch Relay will take a suspicious two-block detour off Peachtree Street. Upon hearing this news, owner Nancy Simms commented: "we'll let them run through the serving aisles if they want to. Maybe we can throw rings at them - onion rings, not Olympic rings."