News

Waffle House: Year No. 61 of working through Christmas

December 21, 2016

There was a time when little was open on mega-holidays like Christmas, but Waffle House was never a participant in that plan. In fact, this Christmas and New Year's Day, the chain will be up and cooking all night long, just as it has for the last 61 years, according to a news release.

 Founders, Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner opened the ubiquitous golden-branded breakfast specialty restaurant in 1955 as one of the original "we-may-doze-but-never-close" businesses on the national landscape. And through everything from the first man's foot on the moon to the two-time election of our country's first African-American president, its doors have been open for the December holiday, just like all the others throughout the year. That's just part of their service, according to Rogers Sr., now 97, and Forkner, now 98.

"If you're going to be a service to the community, you should be there 24 hours a day, every day of the year," Rogers Sr. said in a news release that also admitted that the two founders actually would not be working themselves that day, as they've earned some off time. 

"Many customers have made going to Waffle House a holiday tradition of enjoying the food and fellowship Under the Yellow Sign," Waffle House President and CEO Walt Ehmer said in a news release.