Has the Varsity Tavern’s short but controversial run in the Valley come to an end?
The Tempe sports bar and nightclub closed Wednesday after the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control determined the venue not only failed to enforce social distancing and mask mandates, but also allowed multiple staffers diagnosed with covid-19 to continue working.
The department has placed the Texas-based concept’s liquor license on inactive status.
The violations are just the latest for Varsity Tavern, which opened in December 2018 in the former Hooters on the southeast corner of Mill and Fifth Street on downtown Mill Avenue.
Its very first month, the bar was fined more than $15,000 for serving under-age customers, and it was fined again for the same violation in June 2019.
In July 2019, its liquor license was suspended for several weeks after a customer climbed over a second-floor balcony railing and either fell or jumped to the sidewalk, suffering a broken elbow and hip.
