The Ravenna Varsity — typically just called the Varsity — which has been holding down the corner of 65th Street and 23rd Avenue Northeast for an astonishing 62 years, will close permanently on Sunday, August 3, Vanishing Seattle reports.
The diner was a North Seattle landmark and outlived its original building, which was torn down in 2002; the Varsity reopened in the mixed-use building that replaced it in 2004. According to Vanishing Seattle, Mariners manager Lou Pinella had a meal at the Varsity after arriving in town for the job and asked waitress Sandy Pelkey for directions to the Kingdome. Pelkey has been working there since 1979 and bought the Varsity from original owner Ozzie Boyle; she now runs the restaurant with her son Bryan.
Pelkey told Vanishing Seattle that the Varsity is closing after she couldn’t reach an agreement on a new lease with the landlord. Rising prices and pandemic-related losses also contributed to the decision (common factors in many recent restaurant closures). “While it breaks our hearts to see the Varsity shut its doors, what we will miss the most is the customers that have become like members of our family,” the Pelkeys told Vanishing Seattle. “The doors may shut, but the connections and community we built will last a lifetime.”…