Last week, Sumter County said good-bye to an old friend as The Varsity Restaurant closed its doors after over 50 years of dining service to the area. The restaurant will reopen in three weeks under a new name and new management.

Say hello to Mrs. Mac’s Fillin’ Station Restaurant & Mercantile as Jeff and Margie MacFarland, owners, will unlock the doors to their ‘50s-’60s-style restaurant. The couple, new residents to Sumter County, come to Americus from Vero Beach, Fla.

According to Jeff, “We were tired of the hurricanes, and wanted to find a place to retire that was close to home.” Home being in Vero Beach, just seven hours away.

He continued, “We’ve been in different parts of Georgia, so I took a map, pointed to an area,” and the rest, as the old cliché goes, is history.

Jeff said, “We found a real estate agent; she found us a place to settle, and we prayed about it, and decided that we should do it.”

“God just opened the doors for us,” said Margie.

Her husband of 17 years agreed, “Things just fell into place. We thought this would be a good place to retire.”

After the buying the property, the MacFarlands discovered that the building where The Varsity was located would be available.

“It is in a good location and it is free standing,” Jeff said, adding that it felt like it would be a good opportunity.

While exploring Americus prior to buying their residential property, Margie had taken a photograph of The Varsity building.

“I had circled it in our album and wrote with a question, our future?” she said.

The MacFarlands both smiled and Margie stated, “When God opens doors, it is amazing!”

Though Jeff has been in the restaurant business for 30-plus years, the couple has only been together in the business for around eight years when they opened Mrs. Mac’s Fillin’ Station Restaurant and Mercantile in Vero Beach.

Opening a restaurant where an already well established eatery like The Varsity operated is “a bit scary, but we are excited,” stated Jeff.

“We really like being here; the people are great. Where we come from, everything is fast paced, and here, people take the time to chat. We just fell in love with the people,” she said.