A few years ago after burning out in 2021, I decided that starting with this post everything moving forward would be "buildings that are demolished or otherwise closed, had tenant changeover, had some significant change themselves, or are part of a larger story" and not merely historic. Since then everything has held to that (I figured there might be an exception or two but thus far everything has held).
The downside of a self-governed policy tends to encourage making a post of recently-deceased businesses rather than looking at a long storied history (one of the things I like the least about Columbia Closings, but it also seems to bring in the crowds).
What was a bit confusing about Varsity Grillhouse (and probably contributing to its demise) was that it was a sports-themed restaurant, but not a sports bar*. Here's the restaurant's menu courtesy Archive.org.
The restaurant came and went so fast (late April 2024 to early February 2025) that the most recent Street View of 2509 Earl Rudder Freeway. Not the shortest-lived restaurant in the area by a long shot but rarely do you see a new-build go under like that.
The restaurant was part of a new development of the old Westinghouse building and surrounding property. That's a post I've been tinkering on for a while now (pretty sure I started it five years ago) but that's still going to be a future post, someday...
* archived from this link
