Waffle House Founders To Attend Historical Marker Ceremony

at the place in Avondale Estates where Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner started the Waffle House restaurant chain 57 years ago.

Rogers and Forkner, both in their 90s, plan to attend the event, said Waffle House spokeswoman Kelly Thrasher.

Rogers and Forkner opened the first Waffle House on Labor Day 1955 at 2719 E. College Ave. The chain now has 1,600 restaurants.

The dedication will take place at 1 p.m. at what is now. The museum will be open for tours from noon to 3 p.m.

Members of the Avondale Estates City Commission and the Georgia Historical Society, along with the brass from Waffle House, will be there. Waffle House has its headquarters in Norcross.

The marker will say:

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.