Photos and text by Paul Goldfinger. Editor Blogfinger.net. (Re-post 2013)
FEMA has named four corporations as the top companies in the U.S. for disaster preparation. They are Home Depot, Loews, Wal-Mart and the Waffle House chain of fast food restaurants. FEMA has been so impressed by the Waffle House company that they have created the “Waffle House Index” which is a metric that they use to informally guage the severity of a disaster.
Inside a Georgia Waffle House along Route 95.
Waffle House is a privately held company based in Georgia. They have 1,700 outlets in 20 states across the south and along the Atlantic corridor from the Carolinas down to Florida. Their restaurants stay open 24/7 and they are known for fresh, fast home cooked food. Waffle House restaurants do not advertise and they have achieved some cult status, being mentioned in movies ( a scene in“The Tin Cup”,) country songs, web sites and comedy routines. Traveling musicians, athletes and police love to stop there, and down south they call it a “cultural icon.” Each unit has a juke box and they strive to use diner lingo such as “scattered” hash browns, meaning spread out on the grill.
Much of their notoriety is because they try to never close during disasters such as hurricanes. They have manuals to guide their employees towards that goal. All the units have generators and other special equipment and they are prepared and supplied to continue cooking and making ice no matter what.
The WH Index was developed by FEMA in 2011 after several catastrophic Class 5 tornados struck in Joplin, Missouri, and 5 of the WH stores managed to stay open when everything else closed.
After a disaster, FEMA checks how the Waffle Houses are doing and they use a color code depending on whether the restaurants are serving a full menu, a limited menu or if they are code red (ie closed.) The commitment of the Waffle House company is so strong that FEMA knows that things are bad if Waffle House can’t function. We spoke to some of their employees who verified that pride and commitment.
Eileen and I stopped at a few of their units in the Carolinas and Georgia. They are small places with lively and pleasant staffs. A couple of times we went in at sunrise, and it was like an oasis with the lights on and the personnel ready.
The shops are spotless, and all the workers wear clean starched uniforms. The cooking is done in the open. The cook faces the stainless steel grill and has a basket of eggs in front. She cooks the eggs in small fry pans reminiscent of what you have at home, and great care is given to prepare your food just the way you want it. She flips the eggs into the air and catches them without any breakage—I think it makes them taste better.
The waitresses discuss your order with the cook, while you watch the action. It seems so comforting to be in one of these restaurants, especially if it is dark out and you’re on a journey.
ANNIE BATTLE. “Waffle House.”
Cat and I will make random middle-of-the-night trips to our favorite Waffle Houses in Delaware and Maryland from time to time. There’s one right off Interstate 78 in Bethlehem, PA, not far from the Sands casino, but we haven’t tried it yet. I keep trying to get one in Neptune, but they say the real estate in this part of New Jersey is too expensive for their business model.
During Rita and her aftermath I traveled with a convoy of ambulances who were going to relieve the local EMTs and allow them to begin their personal recovery process. When we arrived the local waffle house was the only place open and was always packed with police fire and ems workers who came from all corners of the country to cover the local responders. The waffle house was wonderful helping us and feed us during our short time
Longer ago, than I’d really like to admit, I was part of a Shakespeare Repertory Theatre Company that toured the south. That Scottish play in Memphis one night, ‘As You Like It’ in Nashville another night, a weekend in Birmingham, on and on, day after day. Pay was less than scale at best and we only got $10 a day as a food stipend. The local Waffle House was our life blood. At 3 AM after a show or lunch on the road it was always great food at a fairly reasonable price. They were always clean, the staff friendly, with generous portions and you also got something of a show watching the artistry of the short order cooks. I wish they’d invade north of the Mason Dixon Line so I could become a regular patron again.
My husband and I always have breakfast at Waffle House on our way down to Florida. We enjoy it and I love their waffles. I can’t believe how the cook gets all the orders correct – love watching him.
Highly recommend it – Future Ocean Grove/Orlando Snowbirds
I love the Waffle House!!!! We have 2 of them in DE. What I have always found is the employess are always pleasent and up-beat, that seems to be rare these days…