TODAY IN HISTORY: Waffle House opened its doors 68 years ago in metro Atlanta

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — For decades, Waffle House has been serving us scattered, smothered and covered food we’ve all come to love. On Saturday, it celebrates a pretty big birthday.

The first Waffle House opened its doors on this day 68 years ago on Sept. 5, 1955.

Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner founded the beloved restaurant at 2719 East College Avenue in Avondale Estates, Georgia.

Rogers and Forkner were neighbors. Rogers worked for the Toddle House restaurant chain while Forkner was in the real estate business. The two men decided that their city needed a 24-hour restaurant and Waffle House was born.

“We are not in the food business. We are in the people business,” is what Rogers would always say.

Under Rogers’ and Forkner’s leadership, the chain grew to 400 restaurants by the end of the 1970s. They stepped out of the day-to-day running of the business later that decade. Both Rogers and Forkner died just a month apart from each other in 2017.

Waffle House has become a national treasure since it first opened. It now operates more than 1,700 restaurants in 25 states.

What was life like back in 1955? Dwight Eisenhower was president, the Cleveland Browns were NFL champs and minimum wage was $1.00.

A new car cost an average of $1,910 while a new house cost $10,950. Movie tickets cost 75 cents and drivers paid 23 cents a gallon for gas.

Of course, the food was cheaper, too. Here’s a look back at just some of the menu items and how much they cost in 1955:

Coca-Cola: 10 cents
Hashbrown potatoes: 20 cents
Waffles: 40 cents
Eggs: 40 cents
Filet mignon: $1.50

Want more Waffle House trivia? Take our virtual tour through the Waffle House museum. It’s a real place you can visit!

How much do you know about the Waffle House? Let's find out!

It's time for a visit to everyone's favorite late night eatery, the Waffle House!

What year did Waffle House first open? To find out, we're headed to Waffle House, but we're not going to just any Waffle House...

Today, we're headed to the original Waffle House, Waffle House Number. 1. The year was 1955. What city did the original Waffle House call home?

Waffle House The first Waffle House opened at 2719 East College Avenue in Avondale Estates, Georgia. Was the original plan to open a chain of Waffle Houses?

After Unit 1 opened, there were no plans for another unit, but the first restaurant established the Waffle House tradition of providing the friendliest service in town. Unit 2 was opened two years later.

What was life like back then? Name the NFL champs and the President of the United States when the first Waffle House opened.

The Browns were the NFL champs...it has been a LONG time! Eisenhower was the President. About how much did the average home cost back then?

Homes were a lot cheaper when the first Waffle House opened. The average price was less than $11,000. Two men started Waffle House. Name them and how did they meet?

The relationship between the founders began when Joe Rogers, Sr. bought a house from Tom Forkner in Avondale Estates, in 1949. Rogers worked for Toddle House and Forkner was in the real estate business. Why didn't they open a Toddle House?

Since employee ownership was not available with the Toddle House, the idea of starting a business they could own and share some ownership with each other seemed like a good idea.

How much was a waffle at the original Waffle House?

If you guessed 40 cents, give yourself a point, or maybe some hashbrowns instead.

Half of the Waffle House Museum shows off memorabilia from the restaurant's 65 year history...

while the other half is set up just like the original Waffle House was back in 1955.

Speaking of, Waffle House made everything from scratch back in 1955 except for three items...name those items?

Coca-Cola

Heinz Ketchup and...

Post Toasties cereal.

How much did a filet mignon cost at the original Waffle House?

$1.50! I'll take two at that price!

How much did an order of hasbrown potatoes cost you in 1955?

Less than a quarter!

Only the steaks cost $1.00 or more. How much was a Coke?

A coke cost all of a dime.

What's up with Bert's Chili? Is there really a guy named Bert who makes the chili?

Yes, there really is a Bert! Bert has been with the Waffle House more than 30 years. He created his famous chili recipe in the early 1980s when he was working in Dallas, Texas.

Has Waffle House ever offered an all you can eat option?

Yes, there was once an all you can eat menu at the Waffle House.

The cost: was $3.99.

In the mood for some music? Has there ever been any songs written about Waffle House?

Absolutely! There are plenty to choose from!

The Waffle House Museum is open from time to time. Check out https://www.wafflehouse.com/waffle-house-museum/ for more.

Waffle House is the world's leading server of T-bone steaks. How many do they sell in a day?

Waffle House sells more than 10,000 T-bone steaks daily. It's also the world's leading server of waffles, hash browns, eggs and cheese, country ham, pork chops, and grits.

Waffle House serves about 2% of the eggs used in the food service industry.

That's a lot of eggs! Somewhere between 2 and 3 billion eggs since it first opened!

Here are some more photos from the Waffle House Museum.

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