Varsity Inn Heads Into 42nd Year in Business

Keith Symonds will be doing the same thing this morning that different members of his family have been doing for just about every day since 1970: Making breakfast for customers.

Three condo units above the downtown restaurant are listed for sale, leading some in town to wonder about the future of the Varsity. But Symonds says the three units are being marketed separately and that the restaurant remains open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week — every day but Christmas.

The Varsity's "We Love Our Locals" $5 menu and some remain big draws to the Varsity faithful.

Jack and Nicole Presnall of  are the agents listing the three condo units: a three-bedroom, two-bath condo listed at $389,900 (Unit A); a two-story townhouse with three bedrooms and two baths at $324,900 (Unit B); and a two-bedroom, one-bath condo at $299,900 (Unit C).

The units are all completely renovated and "turnkey," Nicole Presnall says. Unit C is vacant, and the other two have tenants.

Keith Symonds' father, George Symonds, and his Uncle Bill started the Varsity on the Boardwalk in 1958 and moved to its current location on Eighth Street in 1969, opening in April 1970.

The historic building was constructed in 1905 and has served as a Methodist retreat, a one-room schoolhouse and a coffee house in its history. College banners decorate the interior of the restaurant, which has employed generations of young Ocean City residents—including Presnall.