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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > June > 01 > Entry
Varsity Jr. owner ready to drive on through
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After 25 years, this “dog is walking.”
Susan Gordy, owner of the Varsity Jr. on Lindbergh Drive, celebrated her retirement from the 41-year-old eatery Tuesday night with 300 hot dog-eating friends, customers and family members.
“I’ve had a fabulous run,” Gordy told the assembled group on the patio. “But I look forward to a good time from here on in!” The workaholic Gordy, 62, figured out that if she had counted her actual working hours, her tenure really “would have been 40 years.”
Gordy took over management of the Varsity Jr. in 1980, after the death of her husband Frank Gordy Jr.
His family owns the Varsity on North Avenue, and she recently sold the Varsity Jr. to them.
For many guests, it was a chance to have one last dog with Susan.
“It’s an end of an era,” said Buckhead Coalition President Sam Massell of Gordy’s retirement. “I don’t know of anyone who has worked harder to serve the public.” Attorney Matthew Gansereit’s date was his 3-year-old daughter Anna Catherine, who enjoyed “a hot dog and an F.O.” (frosted orange) at “my favorite place.” Other friends of Gordy’s spotted in the crowd: Penny and Jerry Goldwasser; Sally White; RoseMary Quillin; Jane Williamson; Jerome Garrison and Lyniece Talmadge and her daughter Elizabeth.
One guest spent most of the evening under the table: Humphrey, a piebald dachshund. Humphrey’s owner, Dr. Robert Wilcox, reported that the weiner-shaped dog enjoyed two Mary Browns (which, for the uninitiated, is two hot dogs sans buns).
Staton update
Alas, even Buzz occasionally needs a token for the clue bus. In our item Wednesday about soul legend Candi Staton’s upcoming rare live appearance in town this Saturday, we reported that the singer would be appearing at a Criminal Records-sponsored show inside Aurora Coffee. Faithful readers then began e-mailing to ask “Which one?” As it turns out, Criminal Records owner Eric Levin now runs both an indie record shop and java joint in Little Five Points and a Criminal Records/Aurora Coffee combo in Virginia-Highland. Staton will appear for free at 3 p.m. Saturday at at the 992 N. Highland Ave.
When we reached Levin via cellphone, he explained: “We’ve opened a Criminal Records satellite shop at the Highlands Aurora Coffee shop as an experiment. So far, we’re carrying about 120 titles in there and there’s a listening post. It’s really a work in progress. It might even become a venue for vinyl. We’re hoping that customers will help us to decide.”
Center Stage back
For the city’s veteran live music fans, Wednesday’s announcement by Rival Entertainment could have been subtitled “Back to the Future.” In a press release, it was announced that the concert promoter, producer and venue management group run by Thomas Cook, Josh Antenucci and Lucy Lawler is changing the name of EarthLink Live. Beginning today, the 1,035-capacity Midtown concert venue is changing its name back to its more familiar moniker from the previous millennium, Center Stage.
Rival also runs the complex’s 300-capacity Vinyl and the 650-capacity Loft music spaces. Explains Antenucci: “Even after five years, the vast majority of our clientele refer to the theater as Center Stage. It makes perfect sense to go back to the name that music fans know and trust.”
Sick bay? Not so
In Monty Python terms, Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor emerged on “Larry King Live” Tuesday night to proclaim “I’m not dead yet.” Taylor dismissed tabloid reports that she was being treated for Alzheimer’s disease or was gravely ill.
“Oh, come on, do I look like I’m dying?” the 74-year-old actress asked King in a rare television interview. “Do I look like or sound like I have Alzheimer’s?”
Tabloids report such things “because they have nothing else dirty to write about anybody else,” Taylor said.
The June 5 issue of The National Enquirer carries the headline “Liz: Alzheimer’s Tragedy.” The story states that Taylor was being treated for the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Citing an unidentified source described as a longtime friend, the story says that during a hospital visit doctors found she was “slipping mentally.”
“Oh, my God. Am I dead, am I alive?” an exasperated Taylor replied on CNN.
Asked about the attribution of the Alzheimer’s story, she said, “Do you think any friends of mine would say things like that?”
King also noted that she used a wheelchair. “What’s the reason for that?” he asked.
“My back, which has been chronically bad since I was a teenager,” she said.
Taylor said she was born with scoliosis, a condition that results in curvature of the spine, and has osteoporosis.
Celebrity birthdays
Actor Andy Griffith is 80. Singer Pat Boone is 72. Actor Morgan Freeman is 69. Actor Rene Auberjonois (“Boston Legal”) is 66. Guitarist Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones is 59. Country singer Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn is 53. Model Heidi Klum is 33. Singer Alanis Morissette is 32.
Contributing: Marylin Johnson and news services. If you have a tip, 404-526-2749. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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