Waffle House Museum open to the public Saturday

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By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

If you've always wanted to how the Waffle House got its start, order up.

Enlarge photo

Founders Joe Rogers Sr. (left) and Tom Forkner sit in the museum at the site of the first Waffle House. On Saturday, it will be open to the public for three hours.

Frank Niemeir, fniemeir@ajc.com Founders Joe Rogers Sr. (left) and Tom Forkner sit in the museum at the site of the first Waffle House. On Saturday, it will be open to the public for three hours.

Waffle House Museum's open house

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The original DeKalb County location was refurbished in 2007. Inside, the restaurant and museum house more than 54 years worth of all things scattered, smothered and covered.

On Saturday, it's open to the public for three hours. Here's your chance to see the history behind the 24-hour spot for hashbrowns, cheese ‘n eggs, bacon and waffles.

Hungry yet?

You'll have to eat before you visit, since the original restaurant, just outside of Avondale Estates, is no longer serving food. Fortunately, there's a Waffle House just down the street.

Admission is free, and from noon to 3 p.m., you can step back into 1955, when the diner opened.

Since it opened, the Waffle House Museum has only been used on special occasions and by appointment. Tours this Saturday won't require you to reserve a spot, Waffle House spokesperson Kelly Thrasher says.

Things have changed since two neighbors, Joe Roger Sr. and Tom Forkner, decided the area needed a 24-hour diner.

But a commitment to provide "Good Food Fast" keeps customers coming back, the company says. Whether it's after midnight, the middle of the day or even breakfast time, Waffle House is open.

Any way you slice the country ham, the museum is one to see. It's located at 2710 East College Avenue near Decatur.

The chain of more than 1,550 restaurants is based in Norcross.