The Varsity

The Varsity is one of the most iconic fast-food restaurants in the United States, a Georgia institution that has operated near Georgia Tech's campus in downtown Atlanta since Frank Gordy opened it in 1928. At peak hours the restaurant serves thousands of customers across its sprawling multi-room dining hall, car park, and drive-in lanes — widely cited as the world's largest drive-in restaurant by capacity. The carhop culture that defined American drive-ins in the mid-twentieth century survives at The Varsity in modified form, with counter service organised into a production-line rhythm governed by the iconic question delivered to every new customer: "What'll ya have?" The core menu has changed little in nearly a century: chili dogs ordered "all the way" with chili, mustard, and onion; onion rings cooked in the house fryer; the signature fried apple pie; and the FO — a frosted orange milkshake that has become the restaurant's most emblematic drink. The Varsity serves Coca-Cola products, and the pairing of a chili dog with an FO is considered the canonical Varsity meal. The multi-room interior seats hundreds, with televisions throughout airing Georgia sports programming. The Varsity is a mandatory stop on any serious Atlanta food itinerary, not merely for the food — which is honest, well-executed diner fare — but for the cultural experience of a space that has defined Atlanta's identity for nearly a hundred years. Additional Varsity locations operate in Athens and other Georgia cities.