Rome Varsity plans approved by board of adjustments

The Varsity request for a variance was approved, with some stipulations, Thursday by the Rome Board of Adjustments.

Since the property is already zoned for use as a restaurant, this was the final hurdle before construction could move forward.

The variance concerns a landscaping buffer and smaller lanes of traffic.

The iconic restaurant currently has six locations: Atlanta, Kennesaw, Norcross, Dawsonville and two at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The restaurant, and now chain, has been owned and operated by the Gordy family since 1928.

The primary concern regarding the fast-food restaurant planned at the location of the current Dairy Queen at 879 Spider Webb Drive was the possibility of traffic buildup at the site after it opens.

Two area residents asked if the potential for traffic buildup was taken into consideration in the design of the building.

“We took that into consideration and did the most we

can. We know it’s going to be busy at lunch,” said The Varsity Director of Operations Terry Brookshire at the meeting Thursday.

The entrance to the parking lot is on Spider Webb Drive with the exit on North Broad, similar to the current Dairy Queen. The design allows for two lanes of traffic around the building. One is for the drive through line and the other as a bypass lane.

The deal brokered by Toles, Temple and Wright Real Estate company will replace the Dairy Queen with a new 4,358 square-foot restaurant with outside seating.

The second request approved by the board was a deviation from the unified land development code concerning landscaping. The ULDC requires a 20-foot vegetation buffer with a requirement for trees placed in that buffer zone.

The Rome-Floyd County Planning Department staff recommended that buffer zone be reduced to 4.5’ and the removal of the tree requirement. There is currently no landscaping at the Dairy Queen location and the lot size is such that a 20’ buffer zone would be restrictive for the use of that lot, reports stated.

Google The Varsity has identified a Rome location on Spider Webb Drive where a Dairy Queen is now located, according to plans filed at the Rome-Floyd Planning Department.