Hospitality Lessons from Waffle House

Waffle House Is Always Open: Lessons in Hospitality After an eventful few weeks of this year’s hurricane season, we’re reminded again that the Waffle House is (almost) always open. The Atlanta-based chain has built something truly unique on top of its promise to be “always open,” and enjoyed lots of time in the spotlight, from a cameo on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown to features in national news stories and, of course, a cult-like following. With hurricane season comes the inevitable reporting out of targeted areas: you know you’re in trouble when the Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore shows up and/or if the Waffle House closes. Indeed, the Waffle House index is a real thing, used by FEMA, to help determine the severity of any given weather event. Waffle House operates on a green-yellow-red traffic light-like scale. Green is operations as usual. Yellow is limited menu, presumably due to some sort of force, like a major weather event, that’s out of everyone’s control