1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,560 Speaker 1: Guess what Mango? What's that will? So I know, we 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: were looking at the list of all the celebrities and 3 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,080 Speaker 1: musicians especially that love going to waffle House, and the 4 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:10,799 Speaker 1: list just cracks me up. Like Kim and Kanye supposedly 5 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: double date there. Donnie Wahlberg, who yes, I consider a musician. 6 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: He also gives these insane tips there. Apparently Kid Rock 7 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 1: chooses to get in brawls there, which is really not 8 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: that surprising. But for all the musicians who eat there, 9 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: did you realize that waffle House actually has its own 10 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: music label. You can play the songs on their juke 11 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: boxes right there. You know. As much as I've been 12 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: in waffle House, like, I can't say I've ever actually 13 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:38,480 Speaker 1: paid attention to the music really, and I probably hadn't 14 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: either until I was there with my son and he 15 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: started singing a Garth Brooks song along with the jukebox. 16 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: I was like, how did you know this song? Anyway? So, actually, 17 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,480 Speaker 1: some of the great ones that are on the list 18 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: of songs that are part of their label. There's uh, 19 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,239 Speaker 1: there are Raisins in My Toast by Danny Jones. You 20 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: really want to check this one out, or they're cooking 21 00:00:55,520 --> 00:01:00,279 Speaker 1: up My Order Boy by ALFREDA. Gerald. I guess well, 22 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: apparently that's by design, and according to waffle House, they 23 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: want the music to set the mood, like, not be 24 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: an advertisement that just droned waffle House, waffle House, waffle House. 25 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: You know, they actually set this high standard and if 26 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: it sounds too much like a jingle, they refused to 27 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: put it on waffle House records. I just love saying 28 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: waffle House records. But that's just the first of a 29 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: heaping pile of waffle House facts we're about to dive into. 30 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: So let's dig in y day their podcast listeners, Welcome 31 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always 32 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: I'm joined by my good friend Man Guesh Ticketer and 33 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: sitting behind that soundproof glass wearing a shirt that says 34 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: Toast of the town. It's just got a big old 35 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: piece of French toast at the top of it. That's 36 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: our pal and produce, Sir Tristan McNeil. You know, he 37 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: is the toast of the toast of the town. But 38 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: I'm kind of surprised he didn't pick like a more 39 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: waffle House centric shirt, like one that said, uh, I 40 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: don't know, like scattered, smothered or covered or our house 41 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: is a very very fine waffle house. And I mean 42 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: waffle house doesn't even serve French toast. It's true, And 43 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: that's maybe the most critical I've ever heard of you 44 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 1: being one of Tristan's shirts or props. But anyway, that 45 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: they mostly don't serve French toast, and they also don't 46 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 1: serve pancakes. So that's actually something I've always wondered about, 47 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: Like waffle seems so much harder to make than pancakes, 48 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: at least for me. You know, I've read that the 49 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: thing with pancakes is that, unlike waffles, they're really hard 50 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: to standardize on the grill. Like, you know, there's no 51 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: pancake maker. You can just put the batter in. But 52 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: if you're at waffle house and no one's around, or 53 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: if they're just not that busy, you can actually convince 54 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,959 Speaker 1: the grill operators to make these special items for you. What, 55 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: how do I not know that? Like I've been to 56 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: a waffle house a million times. It's a secret. You 57 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: just moved to the South about a year ago, and 58 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: so I don't know if you're quite ready for it. 59 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: But but now you try yeah, you just have to 60 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: be bold enough to ask really, Like, but you know, 61 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: waffles actually lets their chefs experiment, so things like Alice's 62 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: iced tea that was actually perfected by someone name Alice, 63 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: and there's an actual bird behind Bird's Chili. In fact, 64 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: our researcher Christopher was telling me that he knows two 65 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: chefs who've made their own specials. One was this hash 66 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: brown dish with jalapenos and grilled chicken and ranch dressing, 67 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: just cooked in a heap, and it's called Melvin Special. 68 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: And another one's called Hanks Burger and it was just 69 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: this special burger made with a regular patty and it 70 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: was mixed in with breakfast sausage. And neither of them 71 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: got enough support to be on the national menu. But like, 72 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: if you ask nicely, the grill operators might do things 73 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: like that, you know, like make you a burger with 74 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: waffles for a bun, which actually sounds pretty good to 75 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: be honest. Anyway, back to what you were saying earlier, 76 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: like they may even throw some waffle batter on the 77 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: grill and make you some pancakes. And is that any good? 78 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: Apparently no, it's lousy, but they will do it. And 79 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: that's just the kind of place waffle houses. So I 80 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: was looking on an urban dictionary this week, just trying 81 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: to find out if there are any terms related to 82 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: waffle house, and actually there are a lot that are 83 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: not for sensitive ears, But one definition I liked was 84 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: waffle house and waffle house and so, so, what what 85 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: does that mean? It's like when someone uses too many 86 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: huns and sweeties in their language and too many terms 87 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,600 Speaker 1: of endument. So in a sense, you might say, like, 88 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: she's a nice person, but she does too much waffle houses. 89 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 1: That's kind of perfect actually, actually so in the weirder 90 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: parts of my research this week, this other story kept 91 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 1: coming up that I can't get out of my head, 92 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: and it's about this drunk couple. Apparently, like it was 93 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:42,720 Speaker 1: pretty late and they were intoxicated, and you know, they 94 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: had eaten their meal, and they thought they were being discreet, 95 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: so they decided to go out back and mess around 96 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: in their pickup truck. But someone saw it and complained, 97 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: And when the cops came by and told them they 98 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: had to get out of the truck, the woman kept 99 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,239 Speaker 1: trying to put on her shoes, like she just kept 100 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: trying to put her sandal on over and over, but 101 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: she was so drunk that she just kept sliding her 102 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: foot into a cheeseburger. It's crazy and disgusting. I know, 103 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:13,279 Speaker 1: I don't know why it's so funny, but like, every 104 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: time I see a loose cheeseburger, from now on, I'm 105 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 1: gonna want to put my foot in a loose cheeseburger. 106 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:21,040 Speaker 1: I told you this story, but you know, there are 107 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,599 Speaker 1: occasional moments where we realize, like, yep, we're from Alabama. 108 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: And one of them was at a recent family gathering 109 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: over the holidays, and my cousin comes in the door 110 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: and he just starts out by saying, uh, you won't 111 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: believe this, but Tracy's car caught fire at the waffle house, 112 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: and we thought, all right, I think that's the most 113 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 1: Alabama thing I ever said. Anyway, But if you're open 114 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: all day, every day, and you're serving reliably cheap food, 115 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 1: you're going to attract all sorts of clients. I mean, 116 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: a second waffle only cost nine cents more, and a 117 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: grilled cheese is under two dollars. But you know, before 118 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: we start, I did want to make clear that both 119 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: you and I love waffle house like this isn't. In 120 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: some ironic way, we both just like waffle House. I know, 121 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: it almost feels like it's a write of passage here 122 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 1: in the South, and to me, it's almost like a 123 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: real slice of America, the same way that greyhound busses 124 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: are or used to be, Like, waffle houses feel like 125 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: they should be in a Paul Simon song to me. 126 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: But obviously I fell in love with waffle houses in 127 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:21,119 Speaker 1: college in North Carolina because they were accessible and also 128 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: really easy on the wallet. But do you remember the 129 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 1: first time I came to Birmingham and you drove me 130 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: past the place where there were two waffle houses across 131 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: the road from one another. Do I remember this? This 132 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: was like the first stop on the tour. I mean, 133 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: this is this is a special moment. Yeah for me too. 134 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: But so we're obviously both big fans and familiar with 135 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:41,359 Speaker 1: the house. But one of the things I saw this 136 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 1: week that was really fun to watch was Anthony Bourdain 137 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: going to a waffle house for the first time late 138 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 1: at night, and he's with that other famous chef, Sean Brock. 139 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,919 Speaker 1: It was for his show Parts Unknown, And I don't know, 140 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 1: have you actually seen this episode. I haven't, but I 141 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: want to know. Yeah, it's great because Bourdaine's clearly never 142 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: been there, and and Brox the Southerner, and he just 143 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: loves the place, so he's basically they're like drunkenly evangelizing 144 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 1: of and trying to convert bourd into like loving waffle house. 145 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 1: And so he introduces him by building this waffle house 146 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: tasting menu. Apparently he does this for all his friends 147 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 1: the first time he takes him there. And so they 148 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: start with this pecan waffle, which of course is like 149 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: smothered in butter and syrup, and then they moved to 150 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: um a patty melt course, and then they have a 151 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: light salad with Thousand Island dressing, and then at some 152 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: point there's like a jump cut and they've been served 153 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: eggs and hash browns and and then they finished with 154 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: a t bone and pork chops like, all of which 155 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: they slather in sauce. Wow, that is a lot of 156 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: waffle house. I mean, it is definitely a recipe for 157 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: preventing a hangover. And Bourdaine's description of the place is great, 158 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: like he talks about it as the meal he wants 159 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: more than French laundry, which is that super high end 160 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: Thomas Keller Restaurants. I think part of the joy for 161 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: me and watching that clip wasn't just watching these two 162 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: people with really refined palets just devouring this food, but also, 163 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: like Sean Brock claims that this is where you first 164 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,119 Speaker 1: watched people cook because the grill is really front center 165 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 1: at waffle House, right, Like obviously these places all have 166 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: the same footprint, but he gets really emotional about it, 167 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: and he he asked, like, where else can a kid 168 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: like him like get to watch this kind of service 169 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 1: and see all these mysteries of cooking revealed so openly. 170 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: You know, it's fun to think that waffle House inspired 171 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: a kid to grow up into one of the country's 172 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: best chefs. But now I do want to talk a 173 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: little bit about the restaurants elaborate system for plating foods, 174 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 1: and you know why chefs who train at waffle House 175 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: are so respected. But before we get into that, why 176 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: don't we start with a little waffle House background. I 177 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: know you had so much fun with this, you did 178 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: all the research on the history, said you want to 179 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: give us a little primer. Sure, So waffle House is 180 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: huge name, right, It's the number two family style restaurant chain, 181 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:51,439 Speaker 1: which I guess really means diner, Like it's right behind 182 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,959 Speaker 1: Denny's but ahead of High Hop on this list. And yeah, 183 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 1: and in terms of numbers, they're about waffle houses in 184 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: over two dozen states. This is primarily in the South, 185 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: and of course they do crazy business, So Christopher pull 186 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,480 Speaker 1: these numbers for me. But the volume of food they 187 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,840 Speaker 1: serve is insane. They serve over three hundred strips of 188 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,680 Speaker 1: bacon and a hundred twenty five cups of coffee every 189 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: single minute. And get this, if you stacked up all 190 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 1: the sausage patties they serve in a single day, it'd 191 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: be taller than the Birch Khalifa building, which is itself 192 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: four times the height of the Empire. State Builders should 193 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:27,600 Speaker 1: totally do this. They need to stack them up. Plus 194 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: they do about three hundred thousand waffles every day. But 195 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 1: the reason the place is called waffle house is pretty amazing. 196 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: You know, I've actually read about this, and isn't it. 197 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: It's because the waffles are the most profitable item they sell, right, 198 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: like they're at the most expensive item on the menu, 199 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 1: but they have the highest profit margin. Yeah, so apparently 200 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: the co founders wanted to encourage their customers to buy 201 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: more waffles by putting it right in the name, which 202 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: is super smart. I mean the other thing about the 203 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: co founders. They're named Joe Roger Sr. And Tom Forulkner, 204 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: but they were actually neighbors in Avondale Estates right here 205 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 1: in Georgia, and Mom was in real estate. But Joe 206 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: was working for a restaurant chain called Toddle House. I 207 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: had never actually heard of Toddle House, but I guess 208 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: they were really popular at one point and served an 209 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: incredible banana pudding. Anyway, he was pretty high up, but 210 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: Toddle House didn't allow employees to own restaurants, so the 211 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: neighbors decided they liked the idea of starting something they 212 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,319 Speaker 1: could actually own, which they did on Labor Day nine. 213 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: So if Toddle House had just let Joe Senior invest, 214 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: what we'd probably be looking at? What was the term? 215 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: He said, maybe be toddle House on the web nout, Yeah, 216 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:32,520 Speaker 1: And I'm pretty sure it was called toddle House because 217 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: toddlers were the most expensive item on their menu. That 218 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: sounds about right, actually, So I looked up a little 219 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: more about Toddle House, and while the chain was really popular. 220 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: It was only a counter with about ten stools max, 221 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: so only ten people could sit at them at any 222 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: one time, and there weren't any booths. So it was 223 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: actually a big deal when waffle House took some of 224 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,080 Speaker 1: that model and made it more family friendly and suddenly 225 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 1: it wasn't just like a place for cops or nighthawks. 226 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: But the other thing I found fascinating was that Tom 227 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: was in real estate, and so much of the waffle 228 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: House model is based on really picking the right location. 229 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: Like waffle House doesn't do any marketing, and unlike Denny's 230 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: or Eyehop, you're not gonna find commercials for them on TV. 231 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: They kind of just let their cheap good food talk 232 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: for itself and you know, customers getting the word out 233 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: for them. But picking the right locations obviously matters. You know, 234 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: That's something I'd never really thought about before, Like I've 235 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: never seen a commercial for waffle House, but it never 236 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,199 Speaker 1: really occurred to me that now I'm kind of writing 237 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: a jingle in my head about the waffle House song 238 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: would be. But anyway, I did read this piece where 239 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 1: the founders would actually go to prospective locations and they 240 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: just sit on the side of the road there, and 241 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: what they do is they like count the traffic and 242 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: see how many cars were passing by on these rainy 243 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:46,559 Speaker 1: days before they would really decide to make that investment. 244 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: And it's also why waffle house colors are yellow and black. 245 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:52,439 Speaker 1: So there's this common myth that you know, these colors 246 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 1: are attribute to Georgia Tech because Joe Rogers Senior happened 247 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:57,360 Speaker 1: to go there, which you might have made sense, but 248 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:00,160 Speaker 1: it's actually black and yellow because it reminded them of 249 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,880 Speaker 1: a school buss visibility and that you could still see 250 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,320 Speaker 1: it in that heavy rain or heavy fog. Well, you know, 251 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 1: they're actually a lot of little myths like that. Like 252 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,560 Speaker 1: there's also this idea that waffle houses break their locks 253 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 1: in a ceremony when they first opened a store, because 254 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:15,720 Speaker 1: you know, the places there are twenty four hours, so 255 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:18,959 Speaker 1: they don't need them. But the doors do lock because 256 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:20,320 Speaker 1: you want to be able to close the doors if 257 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: you're remodeling, or you know, to protect your customers from 258 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: a parking lot full of people putting their feet into cheeseburger. 259 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 1: Of course, but you know what waffle houses don't have really, Yeah, 260 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,560 Speaker 1: it doesn't that blow your mind anyway, I want to 261 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:35,320 Speaker 1: talk about some of the secrets of the waffle house 262 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: kitchen and how they stay open during emergencies, and why 263 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 1: academics use waffle house as an economic indicator. But before 264 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: we dive into any of that, let's take a quick break. 265 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,320 Speaker 1: Welcome back to Part Time Genius, where today we're talking 266 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,320 Speaker 1: all things affle House. Now, before we get into FEMA 267 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,480 Speaker 1: and why waffle houses don't have ovens, I did want 268 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: you to know that waffle House is inspired a surprising 269 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: amount of art, including this book of poetry I found 270 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: called waffle House Prophets by Kenny Peevey. I just want 271 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: to say, Kenny Peavey a lot. You should and and 272 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: because April is National Poetry Month, you can. And I 273 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: thought i'd recite the first poem from this book. It's 274 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: called Jesus stumbled in. Oh you're ready already, I've already 275 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 1: got chill bumps. So Jesus slipped into this place just 276 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:37,320 Speaker 1: the other night. Many people thought he was just another drunk, 277 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: a beggar, or a trucker unhappy with his order. So 278 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: that's it. That's that's the hoopful. It's pretty deep. Actually, 279 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's deep or not, because I 280 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,600 Speaker 1: don't really understand poetry, but just the idea of Jesus 281 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 1: said a waffle house feels deep to me. I Like, 282 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,080 Speaker 1: how you just blamed all of poetry for this one. 283 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 1: That's great, all right, Well, let's shift to something a 284 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 1: little less poetic and talk about waffle house and disaster time. So, 285 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 1: and this is always such an interesting thing to look into, 286 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: and a lot has been made in the press about 287 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,320 Speaker 1: the fact that FEMA has this unofficial waffle house index, 288 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 1: you know, when they're trying to determine, you know, how 289 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 1: an area is doing after a storm. Well, green means 290 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 1: that the waffle house is functioning like normal, you know, 291 00:14:15,679 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: full electricity, full menu. Yellow is when they're serving a 292 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 1: limited menu and drawing energy off of a generator. And 293 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: then red is when the weather is so bad that 294 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 1: waffle house is closed and it's five thirty eight, puts 295 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,560 Speaker 1: it it's time to panic. And what's weird, though, is 296 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 1: how rare this is. For example, in two thousand eleven, 297 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 1: when Hurricane Irene hit twenty two waffle houses lost power. 298 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: Only one of them closed for more than a single day, 299 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: which is incredible, But like, how do they pull that off? 300 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: How do they manage to stay stocked up. Well. Part 301 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: of it is just how thoughtful they are about the 302 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: food that they're serving, Like they have this very limited 303 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: no water menu for when the water main breaks, hamburgers, 304 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,800 Speaker 1: grilled cheese, sandwiches, sausage, biscuits. It's amazing that they're still 305 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: pumping out food. But preparation and communication is just super 306 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: important to the company, So every employee gets instructions and 307 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: these preparedness cards, and these details come from a trade 308 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: magazine about supply chains. But essentially waffle House has this 309 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,240 Speaker 1: hierarchy who can stay to work and who has family needs, 310 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: and they are these jump teams like these are the 311 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: emergency workers that can come in to help a reinforcement. 312 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: And part of the genius of waffle houses because the 313 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 1: chefs and the wait staff they're all using the same system, 314 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: so they're basically plug in play. So you can put 315 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: one grill chef in another location and they'd be able 316 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 1: to function just the same. I mean, that's so simple. 317 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 1: It's it's kind of like how Southwest I think only 318 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: used one type of plane for all its pilots, and 319 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: also because it made its repairs easier, like it had 320 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 1: all these extra efficiencies it is pretty amazing. Yeah, I mean, 321 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: the other genius of the system is that every restaurant 322 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: has a nearby warehouse stocked with these foods. I've never 323 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: seen one of these. I didn't even know this existed, 324 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 1: but these are all these non perishable items that could 325 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: get them through a week of the worst conditions. And 326 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 1: it's just incredibly buttoned up and everybody knows their responsibilities 327 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 1: both before and during any sort of disaster. I mean, 328 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: all of that is remarkable, and I do want to 329 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 1: get into some of the kitchen stuff soon. But the 330 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: BBC did this big list of food as economic indicators, 331 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: and of course waffle House was on there with their 332 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: link to FEMA indicating how fast businesses will recover. But 333 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 1: there are some other things on the list as well. 334 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: I know we've talked about, like the big Back Index, 335 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: and uh, if you look at the price of a 336 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: big mac across the globe, you can actually compare the 337 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: prices and understand things about the economies, Like if a 338 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: big mac costs five dollars in the US but to 339 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: seventy five in Turkey, you can actually tell that the 340 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: currency there is undervalued. But because Big max haven't invaded 341 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: Africa in the same way they've taken off in other 342 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: parts of the world. Economists lean more on KFC to 343 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: analyze purchasing power there, so there are a lot of 344 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: kfcas and I guess so you can also look at 345 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 1: potato sales and French fry sales and Asia's and economic indicator. Basically, 346 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,880 Speaker 1: when fry sales go down and the US farmers get hit, 347 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,400 Speaker 1: it's a pretty good sign that the Asian economy isn't 348 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: working like it should be. You know, I love that 349 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,920 Speaker 1: type of stuff for some reason. I've actually read recently 350 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 1: that Mars bars in the UK have mostly stayed steady 351 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: with the buying power of the pound. So you can 352 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:13,440 Speaker 1: use the price of Mars bars to see that train 353 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:15,720 Speaker 1: travel costs have gone down over the years, you know, 354 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:18,640 Speaker 1: while graduate school salaries have gone up. It's I love 355 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,400 Speaker 1: this kind of I want to do a whole episode 356 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: on it. So let's get back in the kitchen, because 357 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 1: I do want to hear about how the wait staff 358 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:27,399 Speaker 1: gets all of those orders correct. Yeah, the ordering in 359 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: the plating is clearly in the art. In fact, I 360 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 1: read this great article called Around the Clock at waffle House, 361 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:34,239 Speaker 1: and one of the lines in there is from a 362 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,200 Speaker 1: fancy chef in town who basically says, if you see 363 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: waffle House on a chef's resume, hire them. I mean, 364 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: the volume of orders can be insane, but the whole 365 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 1: goal of waffle House is to have every table in 366 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,640 Speaker 1: and out in twenty minutes, so their turnover is supposed 367 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:51,280 Speaker 1: to be that fast, at least optimally. Yeah, I mean 368 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:52,879 Speaker 1: that makes sense, like they want to welcome you but 369 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:54,920 Speaker 1: also make sure you can like make it a quick 370 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:56,600 Speaker 1: pit stop if you have to get back on the road. 371 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 1: But of course, if the restaurant is empty, waffle House 372 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:01,119 Speaker 1: isn't gonna haras see you. Like They're gonna let you 373 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,040 Speaker 1: sit there and read a book and sip your coffee 374 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:04,880 Speaker 1: if you want. Yeah. I love the signs that say 375 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,440 Speaker 1: they have free WiFi. Just the idea of like sticky 376 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: syrup and the computers that I don't know about that, 377 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: but but it is why waffle House was so late 378 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 1: to take credit cards, Like they only started taking credit 379 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: cards I think it was in two thousand and six 380 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 1: because cash was just that much faster. But the system 381 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: for ordering is fascinating. It's called pull, drop and mark, 382 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:26,919 Speaker 1: So after an order gets taken, the server writes it 383 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: on a pad and then they yell pull, and if 384 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,120 Speaker 1: you've been there, you've noticed them doing this, like pull 385 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,919 Speaker 1: three bacons, which gets pulled from the fridge. Then they 386 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: yell the drop, which means drop to hash browns on 387 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,439 Speaker 1: the grill or whatever specifics they're mentioning, and then they 388 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,200 Speaker 1: yell mark, and that's where the grill operator marks down 389 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,119 Speaker 1: the combination on a plate. This all comes from this 390 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 1: bone Apotite article where the writer Andrew Knowlton, he tried 391 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:50,479 Speaker 1: to work at a waffle house I think for twenty 392 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,680 Speaker 1: four hours. Definitely got to work out in the process. 393 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: So obviously the mark part of that is where all 394 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,120 Speaker 1: that like elaborate plating stuff happens. And you know, I've 395 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: seen on social media how if you range a pat 396 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:04,680 Speaker 1: of butter on a plate, it tells the cheft that 397 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: not only do they need to cook a t bone, 398 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: but the direction of the butter actually says how well 399 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 1: to cook it? Yeah, and and speaking which they actually 400 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:15,919 Speaker 1: serve four tea bones a minute. You somehow forgot this 401 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,119 Speaker 1: one when you're stacking up sausage patties earlier. According to 402 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:21,639 Speaker 1: the company, they serve more tea bones than any other 403 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:23,879 Speaker 1: establishment in the world. I love that this is the 404 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 1: thing they can brag about, but it is pretty amazing 405 00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:28,680 Speaker 1: actually about I think it's a hundred and thirty five 406 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: million of them since opening in nineteen. Lot of t bones. 407 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:34,720 Speaker 1: But back to the planning, you're right, I mean, the 408 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: system is definitely elaborate. An apple butter on a plate 409 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 1: indicates a certain type of toast, or a jelly packet 410 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 1: at the bottom of a plate means scrambled eggs. There's 411 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: a cheat sheet, of course, but at some point it 412 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,400 Speaker 1: becomes second nature if you work in the grill long enough, 413 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 1: which you know. It's why you can bring in a 414 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: cook during an emergency and they don't miss a beat. 415 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 1: I mean, the other thing I'm obsessed with, partially because 416 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: I never noticed this before, is that waffle houses don't 417 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: have fryers, right like, they don't have fires, and they 418 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:02,879 Speaker 1: don't have ovens, So when they make biscuits, they're just 419 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,440 Speaker 1: using these like frozen pucks that they cook on the girl. Yeah, 420 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,280 Speaker 1: and as much as I love waff house, I will 421 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 1: say biscuits are not the specialty. There by any means 422 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,479 Speaker 1: no offense to them, but that it's just not and 423 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: the deep Friar thing is interesting though, because all their 424 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,400 Speaker 1: competitors use them, you know, Denny's uses them, waffle King, 425 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:23,200 Speaker 1: and of course huddle House huddle House. I love that 426 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,160 Speaker 1: there's a toddle house, a waffle House, and a huddle House, 427 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,440 Speaker 1: like so many houses. I actually looked up the huddle 428 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: House slogan just because you know, I figured out had 429 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: to be like huddle up at the huddle House or 430 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:37,359 Speaker 1: something that's not that's totally this opportunity, and instead it's uh, 431 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 1: any meal anytime, breakfast, lunch, dinner. I just like that 432 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:48,120 Speaker 1: what the meals are. Well, it's actually interesting to contrast 433 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 1: that slogan with waffle House's latest slogan. Yeah, much like 434 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: waffle House, the purpose for huddle House was to create community. 435 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 1: It was called huddle house because they wanted people to 436 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: huddle up there after the big high school football game 437 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: or some other cool event. But you know, that slogan 438 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: any meal anytime is pretty generic. And then waffle House, 439 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: by contrast, tries to be as focused on its employees 440 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:10,919 Speaker 1: as it is its customers. So it's really interesting to 441 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: think about this as a slogan. So their most recent 442 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:17,400 Speaker 1: motto is America's place to work, America's place to eat. 443 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:20,920 Speaker 1: And you know, apparently you can't open a waffle House 444 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 1: franchise unless you've worked there. And I was reading that 445 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 1: like all the back office employees actually have to spend 446 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,600 Speaker 1: a day working in the restaurants, and supposedly employees also 447 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 1: get stock at the company for the service. I saw 448 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: that written about a lot. I actually couldn't find too 449 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: much on that front. But the one thing I do 450 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,879 Speaker 1: know is that both Tom and Joe Sr. Really loved 451 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: working at the stores, and they loved the community that 452 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:45,479 Speaker 1: the stores seemed to foster around them. And while they 453 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: wanted waffle House to be fast they actually never wanted 454 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 1: it to be fast food, Hence you know those ceramic 455 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,640 Speaker 1: plates and some of the other little family oriented touches. 456 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: But before we finish up, I I do want to 457 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about race relations at waffle House 458 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,639 Speaker 1: and how the company is historically positioned itself. But before 459 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: we get into that, let's take a quick break. Welcome 460 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,200 Speaker 1: back to Part Time Genius, where we're talking all things 461 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:21,920 Speaker 1: waffle House now, MAGA, before we get to the fun facts, 462 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:23,679 Speaker 1: and I know you wanted to talk a little bit 463 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:25,879 Speaker 1: about some of the issues waffle House has faced with, 464 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: you know, race or race relations over the years, and 465 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,919 Speaker 1: also what their philosophy has been all along. Yeah, so 466 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: one of the things waffle House talks about a lot 467 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,359 Speaker 1: is inclusion. The name of their in house magazine is inc, 468 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:41,120 Speaker 1: which apparently stands for inclusion. And also there's weird things 469 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:43,960 Speaker 1: in pop culture, like there's a John Mayer song where 470 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 1: the lyrics are, quote Martin Luther King had a dream 471 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 1: and I think waffle House was in it, which just 472 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: feels a little ridiculous to me. And anyway, the way 473 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 1: the company and others talk about the chain is almost 474 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:58,720 Speaker 1: as a place that's kind of egalitarian but also consciously diverse. 475 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:02,600 Speaker 1: Like the company's sponsored hip hop film festivals. Uh, they've 476 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: actually sponsored international volunteering programs, and they actually try to 477 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: celebrate the stories of all types of people who work 478 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 1: their way up in management at the company. There was 479 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: also this Daily Show segment. I don't know if you've 480 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: seen it, and this only like tangentially relates to waffle House, 481 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: but the Daily Show set this fake gay couple to 482 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 1: propose to one another in an Alabama and Mississippi waffle house, 483 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: you know, just to see the reactions, and in both 484 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,879 Speaker 1: places people just kind of politely applauded and went on 485 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,639 Speaker 1: with their business. Yeah, it was undercover, but you know, 486 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 1: it kind of seemed to show that everyone's welcome there. 487 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: But there's also been a disconcerting amount of discrimination lawsuits 488 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: over the years filed against the company, and and that 489 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:43,960 Speaker 1: worried me. So I wanted to look into that, and 490 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: so what's the corporate response to that. Ben They've they've 491 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 1: kind of doubled down on the in house storytelling with 492 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 1: things like their Inclusion magazine, but they also talked about 493 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,199 Speaker 1: it like it's a problem of growing too fast, too quickly, 494 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,879 Speaker 1: and that it's a little hard to reinforce values across 495 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 1: news stores. But it did make me wonder about the 496 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 1: early days and whether waffle House had the sort of 497 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: sit ins and counter protests that you saw in other 498 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 1: places in the South, and did that you know, I 499 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:09,880 Speaker 1: always think of Atlanta as you know, the city that's 500 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:12,399 Speaker 1: too busy to hate, but but obviously that wasn't the 501 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:15,240 Speaker 1: case everywhere in the city. Yeah. So the only account 502 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:17,440 Speaker 1: I could find was in the Atlanta Daily World, which 503 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 1: had a segregation as bent, I guess, but their account 504 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: of the story, and this is in nineteen six four, 505 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: was that twelve protesters came in and they weren't served. 506 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 1: But instead of serving some people and not others, the 507 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,880 Speaker 1: headwaiter just stopped service for everyone at the store and 508 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: until he got like a response from his manager, and 509 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:37,879 Speaker 1: then an hour or so later, the management confirmed that 510 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,119 Speaker 1: everyone should be served, regardless of race. And you know, 511 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 1: when the story was told years later, Joe Senior claimed 512 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 1: that he was personally involved in the decision and that 513 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 1: waffle House was always built as a place of integration. 514 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: I mean, I'm guessing there were plenty of waffle Houses 515 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:54,639 Speaker 1: where people weren't treated fairly, but it is nice to 516 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:57,399 Speaker 1: hear that those twelve protesters got served, and you know 517 00:24:57,440 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 1: that no one was served until a decision was made. 518 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: And I like thinking of waffles and its most ideal terms, 519 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: and I guess Anthony Bourdain came away thinking that way too, 520 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 1: So why don't we end this with a quote from 521 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 1: him about waffle House. Waffle House is indeed marvelous, an 522 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: irony free zone where everything is beautiful and nothing hurts, 523 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: where everybody, regardless of race, creed, color, or degree of inebriation, 524 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 1: is welcomed. It's warm yellow glow, a beacon of hope 525 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:27,919 Speaker 1: and salvation, inviting the hungry, the loss, the seriously hammered 526 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: all across the south and side, a place of safety 527 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:35,680 Speaker 1: and nourishment. It never closes. It is always, always faithful, 528 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 1: always there for you. I like that. So time for 529 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:50,120 Speaker 1: the fact of time for the fact though, m did 530 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:51,760 Speaker 1: you know that waffle House played a role in the 531 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,960 Speaker 1: birth of Reddit. According to a co founder, Alex Shnian quote, 532 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 1: I walked out of an ls at prep course and 533 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 1: into a waffle House and real as I wanted to 534 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 1: not be a lawyer and that I had better come 535 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 1: up with something better. And to me read it definitely 536 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: feels like a more interesting path. Yeah, I'm super interesting path. 537 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 1: All right. So you remember how I told you about 538 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,200 Speaker 1: waffle Houses record label at the top of the show. 539 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 1: So they don't just put out the six singles like 540 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,879 Speaker 1: the ones I was telling you about. Waffle House Records 541 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:22,080 Speaker 1: also occasionally puts out music videos. It wasn't this amazing. 542 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:25,520 Speaker 1: It's first released in two thousand seven was just called 543 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: Bert and it was named for the chili. So did 544 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 1: you know that in the very early days waffle House 545 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 1: helped to launch Chick fil A Sandwiches. I mean, they're 546 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: both Atlanta brands, and waffle House got a license to seldom, 547 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,960 Speaker 1: which made it more popular. Wow, I had never heard 548 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,439 Speaker 1: that before. All right, well, here's a strange fact. The 549 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:45,320 Speaker 1: two co founders of waffle House, Tom and Joe, they 550 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:48,560 Speaker 1: died within one month of each other. Tom died at 551 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,240 Speaker 1: the age of nineties seven, while Joe died at the 552 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: age of eight. That's amazing. I don't know why I 553 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,160 Speaker 1: didn't know this earlier, But did you know that waffle 554 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 1: House cater's mules and if you have more than twenty 555 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:03,200 Speaker 1: guests are planning to spend more than two dollars, they'll 556 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,440 Speaker 1: offer a quote the same unique experiences in a restaurant. 557 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 1: They also have a food truck called the Waffle Truck 558 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:10,800 Speaker 1: that looks like a restaurant on wheels. I don't know 559 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:12,840 Speaker 1: how I didn't know this, but I do know that 560 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 1: I'm going to put in a request for this here 561 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: at one of the house. I feel like for all 562 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: the Southern companies we worked for, we should have had 563 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:22,040 Speaker 1: like a catered meal from waffle I don't that's gonna 564 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 1: be interesting. I wonder how the catering works, like do 565 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: do waffles travel well? Waffle truck? Yeah? Well, apparently when 566 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:32,200 Speaker 1: a man walked into a South Carolina Waffles at two 567 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,920 Speaker 1: am and found the one employee asleep, he actually took 568 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,720 Speaker 1: his meal into his own hands. He waited about ten 569 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:40,879 Speaker 1: minutes and then he took selfies as he cooked a 570 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:44,160 Speaker 1: double bacon cheese steak melt on the grill. I love 571 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:46,000 Speaker 1: that he wouldn't just like make bacon and eggs like. 572 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:48,399 Speaker 1: He went all out with this and then he cleaned 573 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: the grill. Later, the waff Fliles actually offered him a job. 574 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: I'm guessing that other guy probably didn't take his job well. 575 00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:58,879 Speaker 1: When a teenage waitress was photographed cutting up food for 576 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:02,679 Speaker 1: an older patron and Lamarck, Texas, it went viral this 577 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,639 Speaker 1: year and in her honor, the town's mayor declared March eighth, two, 578 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:11,000 Speaker 1: eighteen nine Williams Day. And even better than that, Texas 579 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,919 Speaker 1: Southern University actually offered her a scholarship for four thousand 580 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,400 Speaker 1: dollars a semester, which is amazing, Right, that's a lot 581 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:18,800 Speaker 1: of money. Well, what's amazing is that you read those 582 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:22,359 Speaker 1: sorts of stories all over the place. In the Bonappetite story, 583 00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:25,080 Speaker 1: Andrew Knowlton talks about how easy it is to recognize 584 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 1: the waffle house lean, as he calls it, when patrons 585 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,639 Speaker 1: are drunk and sleepy. And you know how you watched 586 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: a wonderful waitress put a cold towel on a patron's neck, 587 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: given this little shoulder massage and and revive him. But 588 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: but that's actually not my fact. That's just the sweet story. 589 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: So my last one is, did you know that every 590 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 1: year waffle house celebrates Valentine's Day? Didn't? They do it 591 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:49,479 Speaker 1: up with table cloths and candles? And it apparently started 592 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 1: at a John's Creek waffle house close by here, but 593 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 1: now over a hundred and fifty different places celebrate. And 594 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,800 Speaker 1: it isn't an easy reservation to get. You've actually got 595 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 1: to reserve well in advanced if you want to dine 596 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:03,000 Speaker 1: cheap with your sweetie. So I think maybe we know 597 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 1: what we're doing with our wives next Valentine definitely, And 598 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,800 Speaker 1: I love the idea of table cloths and candle lay 599 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: and a little no socks, no shirt, no knuckle heads 600 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: playing from that waffle house juke box, which is a 601 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 1: real song. But I think you have to take home 602 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,719 Speaker 1: today's golden waffle Oh wow, I'm so honored. All right, Well, 603 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: thank you guys for listening today. If we forgot any 604 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 1: great facts about waffle house or waffles or grit I'm 605 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 1: just getting hungry thinking about this, we would love to 606 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,240 Speaker 1: hear those from you. You can email us part Time 607 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 1: Genius at how stuff Works dot com or hit us 608 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:36,640 Speaker 1: up on our seven fact hot line that's one eight 609 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 1: four four pt Genius, or obviously you can reach us 610 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 1: on Facebook or Twitter. Thanks so much for listening. Thanks 611 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: again for listening. Part Time Genius is a production of 612 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:00,800 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant 613 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,240 Speaker 1: people who do the important things we couldn't even begin 614 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:06,560 Speaker 1: to understand. Tristan McNeil does the editing thing. Noel Brown 615 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 1: made the theme song and does the MIXI mixy sound thing. 616 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,480 Speaker 1: Jerry Rowland does the exact producer thing. Gave Bluesier is 617 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:15,240 Speaker 1: our lead researcher, with support from the Research Army including 618 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,200 Speaker 1: Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eve Jeff 619 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:20,400 Speaker 1: Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job, Eves. 620 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 1: If you like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, 621 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:24,360 Speaker 1: And if you really really like what you've heard. Maybe 622 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,240 Speaker 1: you could leave a good review for us. Do we 623 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 1: do we forget Jason? Jason who