<p>The most storied burgers-and-beer joint in this college town will close at years end, shutting down a weathered local landmark that helped a U.S. senator work his way through college and inspired the B-52s song Dead Beat Club.</p><p>Allens World Famous Hamburgers opened in 1954 and was a rowdy watering hole for generations of University of Georgia students. But owners said a proliferation of shiny new clubs and bars in recent years slowed business.</p><p>Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., worked his way through college flipping burgers at Allens, and the checkered-floor restaurant hosted live bands years before Athens music scene was nationally known.</p><p>The B-52s, a rock band from Athens, wrote the song Dead Beat Club about Allens, and late Southern humorist Lewis Grizzard counted Allens among his favorite college haunts.</p><p>But times have changed, according to owner Billy Slaughter, who said the beat-up old restaurant on the edge of town cant compete with newer digs in the downtown area.</p><p>You got downtown with 70 bars, Slaughter said. We get a good band maybe two or three times, and we cant handle 100 people inside total. When (bands) get good, they go downtown. Were not big enough to get the bands to draw students, and were not going to expand.</p><p>A handwritten sign on the door announced the closing, saying Remember The Good Times. Regulars were crestfallen.</p><p>It was a place where everyone could gather. It didnt matter who you were or what you did _ everybody from kids on up was always welcome, said Brian Burke, a member of Allens house band, the Normaltown Flyers.</p><p>Ive been sitting here trying to think of another place that has any similarity to it, and I dont think there is one, he said. Its a one-of-a-kind place.</p><p>Slaughter said the space will be kept at first for special-event rentals, but eventually he will sell the entire building, which includes another landmark bar, Foxz Tavern, and a newsstand and antiques store.</p><p>Its sort of been struggling along for seven or eight years, Slaughter said. Its just one of those things where it sort of outlives itself.</p><p>Information from: Athens Banner-Herald</p>
