A Bite of History by Mike Thies

Waffle House

Waffle House has a long-standing partnership with Richard Petty, featuring a custom Waffle House paint scheme on the No. 43 Ford. This connection to the racing world naturally bleeds into the broader car collector community. Waffle House is a staple for 'Cars and Coffee' style meetups. Because they are open 24/7 and located right off major highways, their parking lots are frequent gathering spots for car clubs and collectors during early morning road trips or late-night cruises.

In fact, the Waffle House Museum in Georgia even features a vintage Ford Mustang with custom 'Waffles' signage in its collection, highlighting how much the brand embraces its role as a roadside icon for drivers. Essentially, if you're a car collector in the South, Waffle House is the reliable pit stop where you can show off your ride and grab a meal at any hour.

The Waffle House story began in Avondale Estates, Georgia, on Labor Day weekend in 1955. Neighbors Joe Rogers Sr., a short-order cook, and Tom Forkner, a real estate agent, envisioned a 24-hour sit-down restaurant that combined fast-food speed with table-service friendliness . They chose waffles as their namesake because they were the most profitable item on the menu.

Franchising began in 1960, and by the 1970s, the chain expanded rapidly across the South. Despite this growth, the founders insisted on a "shoebox" design, a consistent floor plan where the counter faces the grill, allowing for maximum interaction between associates and customers. In 1984, the iconic "scattered, smothered, and covered" terminology for hashbrowns was officially added to the menu, cementing the brand's unique language.

Today, the Waffle House system includes over 1,900 locations across 25 states. It remains a privately held company that famously only began accepting credit cards in 2006, having operated as a cash-only business for over half a century.

The "Waffle House Index" Waffle House is so reliable that the Federal Emergency Management Agency uses it as an informal metric for disaster recovery. Because the restaurants are built to operate without power or with limited menus during emergencies, a closed Waffle House (FEMA: Code Red) indicates a catastrophic event!

A cultural crossroads often described as an 100% real and unpretentious, Waffle House serves as a rare American space where class distinctions disappear. It is a sanctuary for shift workers, travelers, and late-night revelers alike. Its cultural footprint is further solidified by its own record label, Waffle Records, which produces songs specifically for its jukeboxes, and its frequent appearances in films (like Tin Cup), plays, and even songs. 

Historically, Waffle House was among the first restaurant chains in Atlanta to serve Black customers and famously remained open during the unrest following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., earning the respect of local civil rights leaders. It remains a symbol of Southern hospitality and 24/7 reliability.

While the name says "Waffle," the real star of the show is their “hashbrowns”! Because of the famous "scattered, smothered, and covered" customization system, Waffle House serves more hashbrowns than almost any other item, reportedly moving over 300 orders every single minute! If you're looking for the single most popular main dish, the Texas Cheesesteak Melt and the All-Star Special (which gives you a little bit of everything) are the heavy hitters that keep people coming back. Waffle House has claimed to be the world's leading server of T-bone steaks. Even though they are a breakfast spot, they sell more than 5,000 of them every single day! 

Note: Avondale Estates is about 15 miles from Atlanta.  The Waffle House Museum is at 2719 E College Avenue, Decatur, GA