When Joseph Bailey started working at the Varsity Jr. some 40 years ago, he viewed it as "just another job."
"Then it became home," said Bailey, still reeling from the news that the Lindbergh spin-off of the downtown institution is about to serve its last chili dog.
A zoning dispute with the city led to Friday's announcement, which stunned employees and customers alike. The restaurant, at Lindbergh and Cheshire Bridge Road, will close Aug. 23, just a few weeks before ground is expected to be broken on a new Varsity Jr. -- in Dawson County, across the street from the North Georgia Premium Outlet Mall on Ga. 400.
"This is terrible," native Atlantan Kim Iddins told the AJC. She heard the news of the Varsity Jr.'s closing as she munched on one of its signature hot dogs. "I'm really blown away. This place is a landmark."
Varsity Vice-President John Browne called the decision to close the 45-year-old Lindbergh diner "absolutely one of the toughest we ever made." A makeover had been planned for years, but the Varsity and the City of Atlanta clashed over how many driveways in and out of the restaurant would be allowed. Currently there's three, but the city would approve only one for a rezoned Varsity Jr.
"From a traffic flow perspective, it makes it very difficult," Browne said.
City of Atlanta Planning Director Charletta Wilson-Jacks told 11 Alive that new municipal regulations limit the number and size of driveways from the street.
"Although the Office of Planning has not received any related correspondence since early April, staff is more than willing to meet with [Varsity representatives] next week to attempt to reach a viable solution to maintain the Varsity Jr. business," Wilson-Jacks told the station Friday.
Don't expect any last-minute reprieves. Browne said he'll be meeting with Varsity Jr. employees Saturday to discuss the restaurant's relocation.
"We did everything we could," he said. The Varsity hopes to break ground in Dawsonville sometime next month.
Bailey said he'll continue to work for the franchise but will miss his loyal Lindbergh customers.
"They got to know me, I got to know them," he told the AJC. "This restaurant is like a family."
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