Walter Frank Gordy (born 9 February 1904, Thomaston, Upson County, Georgia, USA; died 18 June 1983) was the founder of The Varsity chain of restaurants, which includes the world's largest drive-in restaurant on North Avenue near

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, GA. Gordy graduated from

Reinhardt University Reinhardt University is a private university in Waleska, Georgia. The university has an off-campus center in Alpharetta and offers some programs in Cartersville, Marietta, and Canton, and online. Reinhardt is affiliated with the United Methodi ...

before beginning his studies at

. He dropped out of Georgia Tech in 1925 to start his restaurant chain, which opened in April 1928. Gordy married Evelyn Jackson on June 7, 1930. In 1940, they moved into their home at 3558 Piedmont Road where they lived until Mr. Gordy's death from emphysema in 1983. He is buried in

Westview Cemetery Westview Cemetery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest civilian cemetery in the Southeastern United States, comprising more than , 50 percent of which is undeveloped. ( Georgia National Cemetery, for military veterans and their families, ...

in SW Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

References

1983 deaths Georgia Tech alumni Reinhardt University alumni American restaurateurs 1904 births {{US-business-bio-stub