Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
I
n 1926, when Varsity Pizza first opened, there were only a few buildings on Syracuse University’s campus, which had been open for 56 years. Much of the now-University Hill was farmland. But now, the Hill is bustling. Nurses, doctors and construction workers crowd Varsity on weekdays, and Syracuse sports fans pack it before and after visiting the JMA Wireless Dome on weekends.
Varsity is celebrating its centennial this year. While it didn’t serve pizza 100 years ago, the essence of Varsity hasn’t changed much — that’s what keeps people coming back and working there long term.
“We’re really part of the fabric of the community because we’ve been there so long,” Jerry Dellas, a co-owner of Varsity, said. “The downtown area didn’t have what they had today. The Hill, the university area, that’s where everything was happening. The whole community used to come up to the university area.”
Varsity has been run and owned by the Dellas family for 100 years. Jerry’s grandfather — also named Jerry Dellas — immigrated to the United States from Greece, coming through Ellis Island, then making a pit stop in Utica. When he made it to Syracuse, Jerry Dellas sold popcorn and candy near Marshall Street and the Hill, saving up money to buy a house adjacent to SU. That’s where Varsity originated.
Ted Dellas has been alive just one year longer than Varsity Pizza at 101 years old. Growing up, Ted lived above Varsity; now the restaurant is celebrating it’s 100th year anniversary. Courtesy of SCRC
Jerry’s grandfather had four sons: Spud, John, Nick and Jerry’s father, Ted. As kids, they all chipped in, working at the restaurant. Jerry said his grandfather added a house on top of the Varsity storefront, where he, his four sons and wife lived. As SU and the hospital expanded, Jerry’s grandfather sold the farmland.
By then, Varsity was a full-service restaurant, Jerry said. Everything was made from scratch — sandwiches, baked goods and even ice cream. Varsity switched to cafeteria-style dining because their clientele was expanding alongside SU and its surrounding areas.
Pizza — which is what the restaurant is now most known for — wasn’t introduced until the late 1960s or 1970s, along with beer and wine. It was Jerry’s father, Ted, and his uncles who made that change. Jerry described Varsity as being “mobbed” Thursday, Friday and Saturday, remaining open into the early morning, still serving beers during that era.
Ted Dellas has been alive just one year longer than Varsity Pizza at 101 years old.
“For my father, he’s 101, and he knows nothing but Varsity. He grew up in the Varsity. He lived above Varsity. He ate, drank and slept Varsity. It was all Varsity,” Jerry said.
And Jerry has been there forever, too. At just 3 years old, Jerry was in the back washing dishes or sitting on his mom’s lap as she worked the cash register.
In 2001, Jerry took over with his brother John, and the two are still the people running Varsity today. The duo introduced new menu items like wraps and made-to-order salads, which have stuck around alongside the now-over-50-year-old pizza.
“The Varsity has been around so long and started ’cause the same family runs it. It’s never been out of another family,” Diana Hester, a Varsity manager who’s worked there for 24 years, said. “It just stayed in the family. I think that’s what makes it so unique, different from other places that have had so many different owners and changes of things. But this place has always stayed the same.”
But in 2022, SU purchased several properties on South Crouse Avenue for $12 million, including Varsity and Faegan’s Cafe & Pub. For the first five years, it continued to be entirely run by the Dellases.
In July 2027, that might change. Jerry’s looking to retire and pass over Varsity to university ownership. That sparked rumors on social media and between employees that Varsity, and other purchases like Faegan’s, would close indefinitely. Employees, like Gus Forsman, who’s worked at Varsity since 1981 — nearly half the time it’s been open — worry about what that means for their jobs.
“I’m really concerned about what the university’s gonna do with the place,” Forsman said. “Hopefully, they’ll keep it open.”
Jerry said Varsity would’ve never considered a deal with the university had it not intended to keep the iconic establishment open.
“I don’t think the Varsity is going to die. I think that it’s going to continue,” Jerry said. “And that was one of our concerns while we were negotiating with (the university). They showed an interest in continuing the Varsity, and that was important to us.”
A Varsity Pizza employee in 1974 (left) stands in the nearly-unchanged restaurant in 2026 (right). While the booths, chairs and tables may have been updated, much of the restaurant’s interior remains the same. Courtesy of SCRC, Avery Magee | Photo Editor
The Dellases originally wanted to redevelop Varsity and other buildings next door. Because of its cost, SU was the solution. In July 2027, they’ll have talks about what the transfer of ownership may look like.
“It may not necessarily be the same family, but it’s tradition, and the way of doing business hopefully doesn’t change, and the Varsity lives on with the next owner,” Jerry said.
When asked, a university spokesperson said the Dellases are “best equipped” to discuss the future of Varsity.
“Varsity Pizza is an iconic part of the Syracuse community, and has been a terrific partner to our university,” the spokesperson wrote. “As they celebrate this remarkable milestone, we wish the Varsity family and team our warmest congratulations on 100 years.”
It’s that tradition that some employees are scared of changing. Much of Varsity hasn’t changed since pizza was introduced. The photos on the walls are the same. The booths, chairs and tables may have been updated, but they look the same. The layout is the same. Forsman is still known for his “your wings are ready” line.
Varsity first introduced pizza in the late 1960s or early 1970s. In 1974 (left) and 2026 (right), two Varsity employees stand at the same counter more than 50 years apart. Courtesy of SCRC, Avery Magee | Photo Editor
“Everything else is the same here, and I think that’s what makes it the staple it is. Just being the way it is, it never changes,” Hester said. “You can come in here any day, and it’s the same.”
It’s such a university staple that it’s become a hit for newly admitted students and sports recruits. Eric Ockert, a former Varsity employee, said that Adrian Autry and Jim Boeheim would bring basketball recruits to Varsity. Ockert went “out of his way to make them feel like royalty.” The lacrosse team would come in frequently for breakfast for a period of time, and he learned all of their first names, Ockert said.
Even after former football coach Dick MacPherson retired, he’d still frequent Varsity. He came in with another university’s coach one day. MacPherson came up to the cash register and said he couldn’t let anyone else pay for their meal.
Ockert continued on putting in the order and turned to MacPherson: “Coach, you’re not going to believe this.”
“What?” MacPherson asked.
“Coach, your total is $44.44,” Ockert replied.
MacPherson took the receipt, signed it for Ockert while also calling him a liar. It’s Ockert’s favorite Varsity story because it symbolizes how important Varsity is to the university culture.
“Where else could something like that happen? A little mystique of the Varsity,” Ockert said. “I was looking over my shoulder for the ghost Ernie Davis.”
Syracuse’s sports culture is a significant part of Varsity. After a football win, the SU marching band mobs Varsity and turns the tables into its own concert.
“There’s nothing like when the band comes down after a football game,” Ockert said. “I mean, there’s just no experience like that at any place I’ve ever worked, it’s so much fun. And I never even went to SU but I can still sing a fight song, because I was here after many football games.”
Floyd Little called Jerry’s dad Uncle Ted. Ockert said, no matter what, Little would rush to Varsity to see if Uncle Ted was in. He’d drop everything if he was in a meeting or dealing with a long work day just to see Uncle Ted. Uncle Ted turned into a parental figure for many students who were away from home, like Little, Ockert said.
“That family vibe is what really makes this a special place,” Ockert said.
Varsity’s significance reaches beyond sports, too. Gov. Kathy Hochul worked there while she was a student at SU; she’d call out orders so everyone received their pizza. She honored the restaurant in February with a proclamation from the state of New York.
My time at Syracuse University taught me the power of inspiring other students to fight the status quo.
So it felt right to celebrate my Governor nomination at my favorite place near campus, where I used to work, Varsity Pizza.
I can still make a damn good pizza by the way. pic.twitter.com/5J2WXLxr9L
— Kathy Hochul (@KathyHochul) February 12, 2026
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, sporting a Gerry McNamara jersey, rated the pizza in 2022 for his “One Bite” reviews. Campaign trails also hit Varsity, like Hillary Clinton’s in 2016.
Before Clinton arrived at Varsity, Ockert said Jerry and John told him to stop taking orders. Ockert didn’t. It was Friday during lunch, and they’d seen way more orders at that point before. But he also didn’t know the Democratic nominee was about to enter the establishment. People who had placed phone orders waited outside the restaurant, peering through windows; many did not get their pizza. Ockert gifted that pizza to Clinton’s team, later receiving a thank-you note from her chief of staff.
It’s also a huge spot that alumni return to. Forsman used to sell Mike Tirico beers, staying open so his friends could have another pitcher. Tirico always comes back looking for Forsman, he said.
Class of 1977 alum Samuel Metz said he still remembers Forsman for his classic wings line. Metz said he would go with his fraternity, packing the long tables because the space was big enough for so many of them. It was always easy for Metz to go to Varsity since it was always right there.
It’s familiar now, too. The way you order and go through the line is the exact same. Metz also said few other places that feel the same and can fit large groups of people like his fraternity.
Not much has changed inside Varsity Pizza since 1983 (left). In 2026 (right), students still frequent Varsity to enjoy the same cafeteria-style dining. Courtesy of SCRC, Avery Magee | Photo Editor
“There’s some places that are fads, but this is not a fad, this is tradition,” Metz said. “It’s stuff that people like. Who doesn’t like pizza?”
Hester said alumni come back with their kids, and Varsity is a place they want to share with them. Forsman said a young girl came in with her family for an old Family Night tradition where they could get discount pizza. She danced up and down the aisles between tables. The next time he saw her, she was attending SU.
Most recently, Hester said a young boy rated the pizza a “600.” She found it “so cute” and loves when kids get excited about the food.
The family atmosphere that ran it keeps alumni and employees coming back.
“One of the things that sold me on coming to work here was they talked about the Varsity family, you know, it’s been family owned for 100 years,” Ockert said. “I bought into that, basically. And that’s one of the reasons I always tried to be a good host to people coming in, was that, we always like to think of our co-workers as our family and our customers as our family.”
Hester doesn’t know what kept it open all these years, but what she does know is that people keep coming. And that might just be the reason.
Between the loyal employees who have spent years crafting a familiar atmosphere or the fresh ideas from the different generations of Dellases, Varsity is synonymous with the university and so clearly ingrained into its culture.
Jerry hasn’t really thought about potentially saying goodbye to Varsity, but that change is looming. He’s excited to golf and is ready for something different in his life — because Varsity has quite literally been part of his entire life.
“I guess that when that day comes, I don’t know, I know I’ll miss it,” Jerry said.
Published on April 2, 2026 at 2:57 am