Year Erected: 2012

Marker Text: At this location, on Labor Day 1955, Avondale Estates neighbors Joe Rogers, Sr., and Tom Forkner founded the first Waffle House restaurant. The name was inspired by the most popular item on the original menu. The restaurant's focus on fast-food speed and round-the-clock service reflected mid-century societal shifts toward an automobile culture. As suburbs and the interstate highway system developed throughout the region and the nation, Waffle House grew to include over 1,600 locations nationwide, becoming an American cultural icon open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In 2004 Waffle House reacquired the original restaurant building and opened it as a museum in 2008.

Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, the Waffle House, the City of Avondale Estates, and the Avondale Estates Downtown Development Authority in 2012.

Exploring the Topic

The Waffle House
Research paper by Tom Cruse, Dr. Jennifer Dickey's Introduction to Public History course, Kennesaw State University