Since someone posted a picture of the Varsity in Atlanta last week, I decided to respond with a picture of the Varsity in Athens. The Athens Varsity is truly a glorified hamburger stand, but on a grand scale. The modern awning and glass entry way make it unique, but this cannot hide the fact that inside a small army of servers and cooks are waiting to holler "What'll you have, what'll you have, what'll you have?" and plop a tray full of customized hamburgers and hotdogs in front of you.
Inside, the owners have tried to give the Varsity the feel of a diner with lots of stainless steel and chrome accents, and clean white tiles on the wall. To the front of the building, four or five separate dining rooms are partitioned off to give diners the close-knit feeling of an actual diner. Whether these ideas work or not is left to be decided, however, it remains that The Varsity has a distinct feel and atmosphere that is all its own. Interestingly its clientele is quite diverse, from businessmen on a lunch break to college students and blue collar workers which may testify to the success of the model created by the management.
Athens does have examples of true food stands, such as the OK Coffee stand pictured above. This small building can only hold about two people inside it to tend the single window. Like the modest stands located near factories, the OK is situated on a side street conveniently by a parking deck and a mere block from the entrance to UGAs historic old quad. Because of its location, it caters largely to college students on the go who cannot afford to sit in a coffe shop, especially when they are late for that 8am class. But, like most coffee shops, the OK serves a small sampling of fruits, muffins, etcetera. The sign is also reminiscent of earlier signs which used symbols rather than words to announce their services, much like a picture of a chicken on a KFC sign. Simple, and unassuming, the sign tells passersby all they need to know about the services of the OK, namely that they have coffee, and its not bad...its ok.
Inside, the owners have tried to give the Varsity the feel of a diner with lots of stainless steel and chrome accents, and clean white tiles on the wall. To the front of the building, four or five separate dining rooms are partitioned off to give diners the close-knit feeling of an actual diner. Whether these ideas work or not is left to be decided, however, it remains that The Varsity has a distinct feel and atmosphere that is all its own. Interestingly its clientele is quite diverse, from businessmen on a lunch break to college students and blue collar workers which may testify to the success of the model created by the management.Athens does have examples of true food stands, such as the OK Coffee stand pictured above. This small building can only hold about two people inside it to tend the single window. Like the modest stands located near factories, the OK is situated on a side street conveniently by a parking deck and a mere block from the entrance to UGAs historic old quad. Because of its location, it caters largely to college students on the go who cannot afford to sit in a coffe shop, especially when they are late for that 8am class. But, like most coffee shops, the OK serves a small sampling of fruits, muffins, etcetera. The sign is also reminiscent of earlier signs which used symbols rather than words to announce their services, much like a picture of a chicken on a KFC sign. Simple, and unassuming, the sign tells passersby all they need to know about the services of the OK, namely that they have coffee, and its not bad...its ok.
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