Waffle House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids  |
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Trade name
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Waffle House |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Casual dining |
| Founded | September 5, 1955 Avondale Estates, Georgia, United States |
| Founders | Joe Rogers Tom Forkner |
| Headquarters | 5986 Financial Drive,
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United States
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Number of locations
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1,973 |
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Area served
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25 U.S. states |
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Key people
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Walter G. Ehmer (President and CEO) |
| Products | Waffles, breakfast food, sandwiches |
| Revenue |  $1 billion |
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Number of employees
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40,000 |
| Subsidiaries | WH Capital, L.L.C. |
Waffle House, Inc. is a popular American restaurant chain. It has more than 1,900 locations. You can find them in 25 states across the United States. Most Waffle House restaurants are in the Midwest and especially the Southern U.S.. In the South, Waffle House is a well-known cultural symbol. The menu mainly features Southern breakfast foods. Waffle House's main office is in Norcross, Georgia. This city is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Contents
The Story of Waffle House
How Waffle House Started
The very first Waffle House opened on Labor Day weekend in 1955. It was located at 2719 East College Avenue in Avondale Estates, Georgia. Two friends, Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner, created this restaurant. Joe Rogers had worked in restaurants since 1947. He started as a short-order cook. Later, he became a manager for another restaurant chain.
Joe Rogers wanted to combine fast food speed with table service. He also wanted the restaurant to be open all the time. Tom Forkner suggested the name "Waffle House." Waffles were the most profitable item on their small, 16-item menu. Joe Rogers sold his share to Tom Forkner in 1956 to avoid conflicts with his other job.
Growing Through the Years
In 1960, Joe Rogers returned to Waffle House. It had grown to three restaurants by then. Tom Forkner also left his real estate job to join full-time. After opening a fourth restaurant, the company started letting others open Waffle House restaurants as franchises. By the late 1960s, there were 27 stores. After that, the company grew even faster.
Waffle House Today
In 2007, Waffle House bought back its very first restaurant. The company fixed it up using the original building plans. Now, it's a private museum for the company. They use it for special company events and tours.
The founders of Waffle House, Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner, passed away in 2017. They died less than two months apart.
How Waffle House Works
Every Waffle House restaurant is open 24 hours a day. This has led to a fun saying: "Waffle House doors have no locks!"
Most Waffle House locations have jukeboxes. These jukeboxes play special songs. Waffle House even has its own record label, called Waffle Records! They release songs about Waffle House. Some songs include "Saturday Night At My Place" and "They're Cooking Up My Order." Joe Rogers had high standards for these songs. He said, "If it sounded like a commercial, it got the ax." If a song was good enough, it would be recorded. Then, it would be sent to Waffle House jukeboxes. These songs are not sold in stores. However, Waffle House has made a CD of some songs available for sale.
The company says it sells more of certain items than anyone else. These include their famous waffles, ham, pork chops, grits, and T-bone steaks. They also claim to serve 2% of all eggs eaten in the U.S.
In the 1960s, S. Truett Cathy, who owned a diner called the Dwarf House, worked with Waffle House. He sold his special chicken sandwich, the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich, at Waffle House. But the Chick-fil-A sandwich became so popular it sold more than Waffle House's own items! So, Waffle House ended the deal. This led Cathy to start his own chain, Chick-fil-A.
Waffle House in Indiana
For many years, Waffle House was known as "Waffle and Steak" in Indiana. This was because another restaurant chain already owned the "Waffle House" name there. The original Indiana Waffle House chain later started using the name "Sunshine Cafe." However, by 2005, all the "Waffle and Steak" restaurants changed their name to "Waffle House." This brought the whole chain under one name across the country.
Keeping Food Safe
Waffle House takes food safety seriously. They prepare all meals in an open kitchen. This means customers can easily see how clean their cooking practices are. If there are any concerns, Waffle House works with health officials to make sure everything is safe. For example, if an issue comes up, they will quickly close a location to clean and sanitize it. They also work with health departments to give advice to anyone who might be affected.
A Cultural Symbol
Like other restaurants that are open all night, Waffle House has become a cultural icon. You often see them along Interstate highways in the Southern U.S. This makes them a familiar and comforting sight for many travelers.
Helping After Disasters
Waffle House is known for its amazing ability to stay open or reopen quickly after big storms. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) even considers Waffle House one of the top companies for disaster response.
Waffle House has a detailed plan for disasters. They have portable generators and store food and ice before severe weather hits. This helps them keep going even if the power goes out or supplies are hard to get. They also have "jump teams" of staff who come from outside the disaster area. This way, local employees can focus on their own homes and families. FEMA even uses something called the Waffle House Index. This index measures how well an area is recovering from a disaster. If a Waffle House can open, even with a limited menu, it's a good sign that things are getting back to normal!
See also
In Spanish: Waffle House para niños
- Denny's
- Golden Nugget Pancake House
- Huddle House
- IHOP
- The Original Pancake House
- Walker Brothers
