Waffle House
Waffle House ( Engl. "Waffle House") is a US-based restaurant chain , the waffles markets with various fillings and garnishes. These are almost exclusively hearty fillings and side dishes (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.). The company is based in Norcross , Georgia .
history
The company was founded in 1955 by Joe Rogers, Sr. and Tom Forkner. They first opened a small branch in Avondale Estates , Georgia to feed the neighborhood with waffles. Over time, they opened restaurants in other locations. In 2005 the two founders celebrated their 50th anniversary together with around 30,000 employees. In 2014, Waffle House had 1,700 stores in 25 states in the United States.
On March 25, 2020, the official International Waffle Day, the company announced the closure of 365 of its stores in the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States ; the remaining 1,627 branches should remain open. Ten days earlier, the company had announced that it wanted to keep around 45,000 employees in order to avert unemployment.
Waffle House Index
The chain has been used as an unofficial indicator of disaster damage by the Federal Emergency Management Agency since 2011 , when the Joplin tornado caused major damage but two restaurants in the affected area remained open.
Since all branches of the chain are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and are known to stay open even in the worst weather conditions, the civil protection department can draw conclusions about the situation in the immediate vicinity based on the electricity consumption of the branches. This source of information is called the Waffle House Index .
The index has three levels:
- Green: full menu - restaurant has power and damage is limited or non-existent
- Yellow: limited menu - no electricity or electricity only from generators or availability of food is limited
- Red: Restaurant is closed - serious damage or flooding.
Web links
- The company's website (Engl.)
- History of Waffle House (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Waffle House closes 365 locations across the US , accessed March 25, 2020
- ^ What Do Waffles Have to Do with Risk Management? Retrieved September 14, 2018 .
- ^ Maryn McKenna: If Waffle House Is Closed, It's Time To Panic . In: FiveThirtyEight . December 6, 2016 ( fivethirtyeight.com [accessed September 13, 2018]).
- ↑ tagesschau.de: Hurricane "Florence": Disaster control thanks to the "Waffle House" index. Retrieved September 13, 2018 (German).
- ↑ The Economist explains: What is the Waffle House Index? Retrieved September 14, 2018 .