Posted 10/3/11
Written by Matthew Haynie
Flagstaff's Varsity Gasser and and its Sinclair Oil dinosaur logo have something in common: they're both extinct.
Varsity Gasser at the corner of Milton and Riordan, best known for sporting Sinclair Oil's name and trademark green brontosaurus (named Dino), closed down Thursday of last week.
The gas station and the vacant buildings at 1020 S. Milton that were once a New Frontiers and Mountain Home Game Room & Spa store will be demolished. According to Miriam Hyenga, part of the Phoenix development company that bought the land last week, the corner is going to be the sight of two new arrivals to Flagstaff: Dunkin' Donuts and the Phoenix-based Zoyo Yogurt shop. An undecided drive-through restaurant is expected to complete the tasty trio; the restaurant is still being negotiated by the new owners with national chains.
This introduction of two, possibly three, restaurant chains to Flagstaff follows the recent trend the city has been seeing with the openings of Chipotle and Panda Express this previous summer, the more recent Subway Café, and the coming Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
So how did the deal go down, and why now?
“Sinclair didn't decide to shut [Varsity Gasser] down,” said Todd Cawley, Manager of National Accounts for Sinclair. “The owners sold the property.”
Owners George and Karen Nackard sold the land to Phoenix developers Aaron Klusman, Bert Hyenga, and Miriam Hyenga last week. George Nackard, now in his mid-80s, opened Varsity Gasser in 1997.
“The owners thought it was the right time and right company to sell it to,” said a distributor for Sinclair Oil.
Although one gas station is going down, people in Flagstaff still have a few choices of where to fuel up in the same area. The previously mentioned Conoco is at the same intersection as Varsity Gasser. Super Express Car Wash & Fuel is across the street from it, and there is a Giant service station down a block at the corner of Milton and S. Plaza Way. However, none of them have a green dinosaur.
Now devoid of Dino and fenced off, the remains of the former fuel stop is expected to be torn down within the next few months.
