6 Things You Didn't Know about Waffle House

I used to go to Waffle House after school in high school and hang out with my two best friends. We would smoke cigarettes (don't tell my mom), eat waffles, and catch up on our day. As I grew older, Waffle House became the go-to late night spot after the bars closed. A belly full of Waffle House greatly decreased the chance of a hangover the next day. We even gave it a nickname, WaHo.

For many who live in the Southeast, Waffle House is a cultural icon that holds memories and instantly reminds them of home. Here are a few things you might not know about the popular restaurant chain.

1. Waffle House never closes. Ever. The 24-hour diner means you can have waffles or an All-Star Breakfast anytime. The diner is open on all holidays, 365 days a year if at all possible: even during rough storms like hurricanes when other eateries are all closed. Waffle House has specific disaster management policies to help them stay open including portable generators.

2. Waffle House is in cahoots with the government. Because of its commitment to staying open at all times, FEMA actually uses a Waffle House Index to rate storms:

Red = Waffle House is closed
Yellow = Limited menu
Green = Waffle House is open

In other words, if Waffle House is closed, you know it's bad.

3. The jukeboxes include original songs about ... waffles. Yep, check out the jukebox the next time you head for the yellow sign and some covered and smothered hash browns. Or you can stream the songs, which are unbelievably organized into not just one album, but Volume 1 and Volume 2. Volume 2 is even available on iTunes.

4. The Waffle House hash brown lingo is proprietary. I grew up ordering my hash browns double-covered, but I never knew the lingo originated at Waffle House. According to wikipedia, you can order your hash browns "'scattered' (spread on the grill), 'smothered' (with onions), 'covered' (with cheese), 'chunked' (with diced ham), 'diced' (with diced tomatoes), 'peppered' (with jalapeño peppers), 'capped' (with mushrooms), 'topped' (with chili) and 'all the way' (with all available toppings). Recently, the option of 'country' was added for hash browns with sausage gravy on them."

5. You can eat waffles by candlelight on Valentine's Day. Waffle House offers candlelit service on Valentine's Day at select restaurants--the list offered 145 locations in 2015. We can only hope this list continues to grow each year.

6. Waffle House was named after its most profitable item. If you've eaten at Waffle House, you know they serve much more than just waffles. But when it came time to name the restaurant, they went with the most expensive, and profitable, item on the menu. A good business decision to sell more of what made them the most money.

References:
1. http://firstwefeast.com/eat/waffle-house-trivia/s/fema-uses-a-waffle-house-index-to-size-up-natural-disasters/
2. http://www.allmusic.com/album/waffle-house-jukebox-favorites-vol-1-mw0001084437
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House
4. http://www.cbs46.com/story/21202821/waffle-house-offers-candle-lit-valentines-day-dinners