Fort Worth sports bar Varsity Tavern appears to be out of business for good
A sports bar in the West 7th entertainment district seems to have gone out of business, according to posts on social media.
Varsity Tavern, located at 1005 Norwood St., remained closed during its regularly scheduled business hours Wednesday and photos circulating on social media earlier in the week appeared to show an email to Varsity Tavern employees saying the establishment would permanently close Jan. 2 and instructing employees where to pick up their final paychecks.
The bar’s owners could not be reached for comment.
Varsity hosted a New Year’s Eve extravaganza on Saturday, according to a Facebook post, and appears to have been open Sunday as well.
There are no signs on the building indicating it is closed permanently and the establishment’s Facebook page and website remain active.
According to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Varsity’s liquor permit was still active as of Tuesday afternoon.
Varsity has been penalized four times since it opened in 2016 for selling alcoholic beverages to minors and once in March for selling an alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated person, according to TABC records. The business has paid a total of $4,800 in penalties.
The establishment was the site of a shooting in May, when a gunman fired into a crowd outside and injured two people. Since November 2021 there have been at least four assaults and one unlawful possession of a weapon reported at the Varsity Tavern address, according to police records.
A federal lawsuit was also filed against Varsity Tavern in March 2020 alleging that the bar refused to serve a Black man.
