Waffle House has been an American institution since 1955. That’s when two friends decided to create a restaurant that focused on good food and friendly service available at any time of the day or night. That one restaurant down in Georgia has since grown into 1,900 locations in 25 US States. Somehow, despite the Waffle House being open 24-hours a day, seven days a week for literally my entire lifetime, I had never found the time to step foot inside one.
That was remedied yesterday.
We stopped by the Waffle House in Sharonville, Ohio and were delighted by the friendly banter among coworkers and customers. Our waitress was a sweet older lady who took good care of us and our breakfast came to the table almost before we had a chance to order it. We both got scrambled eggs and pecan waffles.
For some reason, I didn’t think to ask how big the waffles are.
Rookie mistake.
Most restaurants bring you a small waffle that’s maybe the size of a compact disc. The double stack of waffles required a dinner platter and had plenty of pecans cooked right into the batter with a sprinkling of more pecans on top.
The eggs were buttery and light. Best of all, they didn’t taste like meat grease – a problem I find at many breakfast establishments that don’t think twice about contaminating eggs by cooking them on the griddle with sizzling bacon and sausage.
It was delicious, fast and reasonably priced. Not to mention, every last bite was served with a side of hospitality and good humor.
It is commonly known that Waffle House stays open even when times are tough such as during natural disasters. It has been reported that FEMA partially gauges how badly an area is hit by hurricane or tornado using the Waffle House Index. Essentially, if the local Waffle House is closed, the town is in dire straits and needs help ASAP. Code Green means it’s business as usual with a full menu served while Code Yellow indicates a limited menu and that the electricity may be off. Code Red means the place is closed and it’s time to call in the National Guard.
People laugh at this but I think it’s brilliant. Also, if I had to weather a storm, there’s perhaps no place better to do it.
Want to know more about the Waffle House menu or their history? Find it all at their website. Want to taste those waffles for yourself? Stop on by and see for yourself what the fuss is about!
This was such a fun post and now I want Waffle House asap. I have never heard of the Waffle House Index. This is fascinating. I’ll be reading up on this for sure.
Enjoy!!!
I’ve never been to Waffle House, although I do love waffles.
They’re awfully good!
I didn’t realize the Waffle Houses have been around since the fifties!
I didn’t either!
I stopped at Waffle House twice in April of 2019 and ate at one of them. I had started the day very early, flew from Lansing to Detroit to Birmingham AL. Taxi out to a small town and bought a car I had found online. Did some sightseeing and then started back North. Having seen Waffle Houses everywhere, decided to try it. Went to use the restroom first and while in there the mirror on the wall randomly exploded into a million little glass pebbles. After starring at the mess for a few seconds, decided I was way too tired to deal with this and left. (Did let an employee know what had happened) When I got to Fort Payne where I was spending the night, there was another Waffle House next door, where I had a very nice late dinner with no further excitement.
They have followed I-75 North and have some locations in Toledo OH, but haven’t made it into Michigan yet.
Wow. That’s quite a story! Were you hurt?
Nope, just quite startled. I suspect the mirror was made out of some sort of safety glass as it turned into little pebbles rather than any sort of big shards.
Well, that’s good…. What a crazy story!
I might have eaten at one when we traveled down south when I was a kid, but have not tried one as an adult. Those pecan waffles look amazing!
They were so good!
Fun info! I don’t believe I’ve ever been in one though I’ve been in other breakfasts chains: IHOP, Village Inn, Denny’s, etc.
Denny’s and IHOP are a little more polished than Waffle House but the service and waffles were superior to both of those chains.
Those waffles are massive! They look delicious though.
So good. So, so good.
I was shocked to learn that there are actually people living in the southeast half of the U.S. who have never eaten at a Waffle House, but am happy to learn that is no longer the case for you. I have eaten at Waffle House more times than I can count, including Christmas Day 2020. Related to your “weather a storm” comment, I was once snowed in at a Motel 6, but there was a Waffle House, connected by steps, right next door. Two wonderfully reliable American roadside institutions.
I enjoyed the experience immensely and will absolutely go back. It’s just sad the tot took me so long to go!
Lucky and smart placement of those two American institutions!