Waffle House

This article is about the American restaurant chain. For other uses, see Waffle House (disambiguation).
Waffle House, Inc.
Waffle House
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurants
GenreCasual dining
FoundedSeptember 5, 1955; 69 years ago (1955-09-05)
Avondale Estates, Georgia, United States
FoundersJoe Rogers
Tom Forkner
Headquarters5986 Financial Drive,
Norcross, Georgia
,
United States
Number of locations
2,004[1][2] (October 2024)
Area served
25 U.S. states
ProductsWaffles, breakfast food, sandwiches
RevenueIncrease$1 billion[3]
Number of employees
40,000[2]
SubsidiariesWH Capital, L.L.C.
Websitewafflehouse.com

Waffle House, Inc. is an American restaurant chain with over 2000 locations in 25 states in the United States.[4] The bulk of the locations are in the Midwest and the South, where the chain is a regional cultural icon.[5] The menu consists mainly of Southern breakfast food.[6] Waffle House is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area.[7]

Plaque commemorating the first Waffle House restaurant

History

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Founding

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The first Waffle House opened on Labor Day weekend in 1955 at 2719 East College Avenue in Avondale Estates, Georgia.[8][9] That restaurant was conceived and founded by Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner.[10][9][11] Rogers started in the restaurant business as a short-order cook in 1947 at the Toddle House in New Haven, Connecticut.[12] By 1949, he had become a regional manager[5] with the now-defunct Memphis-based Toddle House chain. He then he moved to Atlanta, where he met Tom Forkner while buying a house from him in Avondale Estates.[4]

The first Waffle House restaurant (now a museum), Avondale Estates, Georgia. Note original "syrupy" font on the sign.

Rogers's concept was to combine the speed of fast food with table service with around-the-clock availability.[5] Forkner suggested naming the restaurant "Waffle House", as waffles were the most profitable item on the 16-item menu.[5] Rogers continued to work with Toddle House, and, to avoid conflict of interest, sold his interest to Forkner in 1956.

1960s-1990s

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In 1960, Rogers asked to buy into Toddle House, and was subsequently refused. Afterwards, he moved back to Atlanta and rejoined Waffle House, now a chain of three restaurants, to run restaurant operations.[12] Shortly after Rogers returned full-time, Forkner followed suit and left Ben S. Forkner Realty.

After opening a fourth restaurant in 1960, the company began franchising its restaurants and slowly grew to 27 stores by the late 1960s, before growth accelerated.

Since 2000

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A Waffle House in Jasper, Georgia

In 2007, Waffle House repurchased the original restaurant, which had been sold by the chain in the early 1970s. The company restored it using original blueprints for use as a private company museum. The museum is used primarily for internal corporate events and tours.[13][14]

In 2008, one of the biggest Waffle House franchises in the southeast, North Lake Foods, was bought out by Waffle House, Inc. North Lake Foods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed some stores. Waffle House, Inc. plans to rehabilitate the franchise.[citation needed] In early 2009, East Coast Waffles bought North Lake Foods to become a new franchise.[15]

The founders of the Waffle House brand died in 2017 within two months of each other: Joe Rogers Sr. died on March 3 and Tom Forkner on April 26.[16] On September 8, 2024, it was reported that Walter G. Ehmer, who oversaw Waffle House since 2012, died.[17]

Operations

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Each Waffle House location is open 24 hours daily. This schedule has inspired the urban myth that "Waffle House doors have no locks".[18] The chain's restaurants almost always have jukeboxes, which have traditionally played 45-rpm singles[19] and, in some cases, CDs. Waffle House has released music through its own record label, Waffle Records. It has released songs from "Saturday Night At My Place" by Gary Garcia released in 1995 to "They're Cooking Up My Order" by Alfreda Gerald released in 2006. The co-founder Joe Rogers had high standards and said, "If it sounded like a commercial, it got the ax." If the song makes the cut, it will be recorded and make its way to Waffle House jukeboxes.[20] The songs are on ordinary discs, which are produced for Waffle House and are not commercially sold, but the chain has made a CD of some of the songs available for sale.[21] Other artists that recorded for Waffle Records include Eddie Middleton who recorded "Good Food Fast" and "Waffle Doo-Wop," which was composed and produced by Jerry Buckner.[22][23]

The company claims to be the world's leading seller of several of its menu items—the namesake waffles, ham, pork chops, grits, and T-bone steaks. It also claims that it serves 2% of all eggs in the U.S.[24]

In the 1960s, S. Truett Cathy, the owner of a local diner called the Dwarf House, contracted with Waffle House to sell his proprietary chicken sandwich, the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. However, the Chick-fil-A sandwich quickly overtook Waffle House's own items in sales and Waffle House ended the deal, prompting Cathy to spin off Chick-fil-A into its own chain.[25]

The Waffle House in Urbana, Maryland

Waffle and Steak

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For years, Waffle House was known as "Waffle and Steak" in Indiana due to another chain of restaurants owning the rights to the Waffle House name in the state.[26][27] The original Indiana Waffle House chain has started using the name "Sunshine Cafe".[28] However, the d/b/a for "Sunshine Cafe" belongs to "Waffle House Greenwood Inc.", established in 1981. The oldest "Waffle House" entity listed with the Corporations office of the Indiana Secretary of State is "Waffle House of Bloomington, Indiana, Inc." established in 1967, and, like Waffle House Greenwood, it is still an active corporation.[29] The Bloomington operation, the city's second oldest restaurant, closed in 2013, and was demolished to make way for an apartment complex.[30] (Many of the Waffle House corporations in Indiana have been dissolved.) "Waffle House Inc." of Norcross, Georgia, registered with Indiana in 1974. In 2005, the Waffle and Steak restaurants all adopted the "Waffle House" moniker, bringing the entire chain under the name.[29]

Food safety

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Waffle House in Oklahoma

In 2004, in response to a serious Salmonella problem in 2003 at a Chili's location in Vernon Hills, Illinois,[31] and by four deaths in 1993 from E. coli in undercooked hamburger at a Jack in the Box,[32] the television news magazine Dateline NBC investigated sanitation practices of popular American family restaurant chains, measuring the number of critical violations per inspection. The Waffle House averaged 1.6 critical violations per inspection.[33] Waffle House's response to the study pointed out that they prepare all meals in an open kitchen, and consumers can readily observe their sanitation practices themselves.[34]

On September 17, 2019, customers who ate at a Waffle House in Goose Creek, South Carolina, were exposed to Hepatitis A. One of the employees who had worked there tested positive for Hepatitis A. After upper management found out, they immediately shut down the Goose Creek Waffle House location to sanitize the facility. DHEC officials said they would be working with Waffle House to investigate possible exposures and provide guidance for preventive treatment for anyone who may be affected.[35]

Cultural icon

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A Waffle House near Clarksville, Tennessee.

Waffle House has developed into a cultural icon. Part of Waffle House's fame is that they are prominent along Interstate highways in the South.[36] A now defunct Geocities website, The Waffle House Shrine, hosted employee and customer comments about their experiences with Waffle House.[37][38][36]

Disaster recovery

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Main article: Waffle House Index

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Waffle House is one of the top four corporations, along with Walmart, The Home Depot, and Lowe's, for disaster response.[39][40] Waffle House has an extensive disaster management plan with on-site and portable generators, and positions food and ice ahead of severe weather events such as a hurricane. This helps mitigate the effects of a storm on the power grid and the supply chains.[41] The company prepares "jump teams" of recovery staff and supplies, brought in from outside disaster-affected areas, so that local staff can focus on helping their own homes and families. The ability of a Waffle House to remain open after a severe storm, possibly with a limited menu, is used by FEMA as a measure of disaster recovery known as the Waffle House Index.[39][42][43]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Waffle House Locator". Waffle House. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Our Story".
  3. ^ "Waffle House Chairman Joe Rogers Jr. Debuts as a Billionaire as Restaurant Industry Digs Out from Wreckage". Forbes.
  4. ^ a b "History". Waffle House. August 21, 2015. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d "Waffle House still dishin' diner food at 50 - Business - US business - Food Inc". NBC News. Associated Press. August 15, 2005. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  6. ^ Maxwell, Samantha (May 18, 2021). "Popular Waffle House Menu Items, Ranked Worst To Best". Mashed. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  7. ^ "Contact us". www.wafflehouse.com. Norcross, GA: Waffle House. 2019. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  8. ^ "A State of Innovation: Waffle House". Georgia Historical Society. July 20, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "TODAY IN HISTORY: Waffle House opened its doors 68 years ago in metro Atlanta". WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta. September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  10. ^ Sharpe, Joshua (April 27, 2017). "Waffle House co-founder dies at 98, a month after business partner". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  11. ^ "Waffle House's 1955 menu offered this ritzy dish for just $1.50". WJBF. August 6, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Osinski, Bill (December 24, 2004). "The Cornerstone of Waffle House". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018.
  13. ^ "Waffle House Museum, Decatur, Georgia". RoadsideAmerica.com. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  14. ^ Chopra, Sonia (July 18, 2013). "A Look at the First-Ever Waffle House, Now the World's Only Waffle House Museum". Eater Atlanta. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  15. ^ Collier, Joe Guy (August 5, 2009). "Bankrupt Waffle House franchisee draws bids". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019.
  16. ^ Sharpe, Joshua (April 27, 2017). "Waffle House co-founder dies a month after his business partner". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019.
  17. ^ "Waffle House CEO Walt Ehmer dies at the age of 58". Fox 5 Atlanta. September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  18. ^ Howard, Mike. "People business". Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  19. ^ "People business". Waffle House. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  20. ^ "A B-Side With Your Bacon? Waffle House Has Its Own Music Label". NPR.org. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  21. ^ "Waffle House Records". Waffle House. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011.
  22. ^ 45Cat - Eddie Middleton - Discography
  23. ^ Popsike - WAFFLE HOUSE RECORDS--EDDIE MIDDLETON--"GOOD FOOD FAST"
  24. ^ Wilson, Dave (October 19, 2017). "Is this heaven? No, it's a Waffle House". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  25. ^ "12 Things You Didn't Know About Waffle House". January 16, 2016.
  26. ^ [1] Archived May 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ "Does anyone else remember the old Indiana Waffle Houses?". June 9, 2023.
  28. ^ [2] Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ a b "Secretary of State - Business Services Division". Secure.in.gov. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  30. ^ Contrera, Jessica (October 21, 2013). "The end of the Waffle House". Indiana Daily Student. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  31. ^ "Marler Clark announces settlement of 49 Chili's Salmonella Claims". Prweb.com. August 12, 2004. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  32. ^ "Jack in the Box E. coli Outbreak Lawsuits - Western States (1993)". Marlerclark.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  33. ^ "How safe are your favorite restaurants?". Marlerclark.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  34. ^ "Restaurants respond to rankings - Dateline NBC - Consumer Alert". NBC News. September 28, 2004. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  35. ^ Rivera, Ray (September 18, 2019). "DHEC: Customers who ate at Goose Creek Waffle House may have been exposed to Hepatitis A". live5news.com. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  36. ^ a b Williams, Paige (December 1, 2007). "How Waffle House became a cultural icon". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  37. ^ "The Waffle House Shrine". October 26, 2009. Archived from the original on October 26, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  38. ^ "Waffle House: A Strange American Dream | Kate Williams | The Hypocrite Reader". Hypocrite Reader. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  39. ^ a b "How to Measure a Storm's Fury One Breakfast at a Time". Wall Street Journal. September 1, 2011.
  40. ^ "How Waffle House Became A Disaster Indicator For FEMA". Popular Science. March 18, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  41. ^ "What Do Waffles Have to Do with Risk Management?". EHS Today. July 6, 2011.
  42. ^ If Waffle House Is Closed, It's Time to Panic By Maryn McKenna for FiveThirtyEight December 6, 2016
  43. ^ Tenney, Garrett (March 26, 2015). "When disaster strikes, FEMA turns to ... Waffle House". Fox News. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
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