This article is contrary to my understanding of the WHI. Waffle House doesn't know any more about a coming storm than FEMA, but how quickly (and fully) the Waffle Houses open after a storm is a good indicator of how much damage was done and how quickly the area is bouncing back.
The article addresses this. Referring to the origination of the formal index, "The restaurants eventually became a key feature on a color-coded map that his team provided to help the public and local officials identify where storm damage was most severe."
It's not FEMA's job to develop knowledge about coming storms anyways. NOAA does that. FEMA coordinates the preparation for and response to a disaster
I wish the article would communicate more about how WaHo does this. I see they tend to stock their stores with generators, but is that the only thing? Does WaHo have longer shifts, reducing the need for staff missing shifts? Why is WaHo a better indicator than other services, like public transit?
As a southerner who has also pondered this, I think it's simply the basic nature of the menu and local nature of the employees.
Food is basically just pre-made batter, eggs, potatoes, and processed meat; all of which holds well and only requires limited refrigeration. Staff is pretty basic crew: Cooks and customers can order directly at the register if waiter isn't available.
Add to that a culture of staying open at all costs and there you go.
They have jump teams that come in and help get things back up and running. Since the training of the staff is standardized, jump team members can staff the restaurant and get it back up and running while the regular employees take care of personal matters.
Because 1) it's standardized beyond local / state political footprint, and
2) it's measuring basic availability of resources like water, electricity, natural gas, but also availability of food items like eggs, meat, bread. Plus labor.
And 3) in extreme cases, whether the (relatively uniform) building still stands and is occupied/usable.
In much of the Waffle House footprint, public transit is nonexistent or minimal and would not serve as a good indicator. There are certainly exceptions (Atlanta comes to mind), but in general, no.
Biscuits and gravy are really the only heritage Southern food in that list. Hashbrowns came from diner culture (northeast), waffles came from Belgium (New york and the midwest), maple syrup came from the sugar maple range (some parts of appalachia but mostly the northeast)
Early southerners would have put honey or molasses on their pancakes
I'm playing roulette with Mother Nature today. She's a wily player.
The "Stay open at all costs" mentality is dangerous to employees. All but one restaurant was closed today that I could find. Their workers have personal nneeds, too. Such as waiting in lines for hours, boarding up their home, filling sandbags, packing up, and running away, all of which I did, too. Except waiting in lines for hours for sandbags. Nonetheless, that one diner, Recipe Box, was slammed, 'cuz we all wanna eat on the run. I don't know what the right answer is.
As others have noted, they have teams of people they bring in to staff the place in case of disaster. They are, as far as I can tell, very good to their employees, who are mostly low-skill workers dealing with an often drunk and raucous clientele. But if you want to get paid in cash every week, they will do it.
Waffle House isn't a great meal, even for a cheap diner, and it's not meant to be. It's hot and freshly cooked, though, and in the middle of a disaster that's something you might not be able to get at home (cf. the Mellow Mushroom owner in Asheville giving out pizza a couple of days after Helene - people like the pizza, but the quotes were all saying "it was just so nice to eat something hot"). And it's always open.
People starting companies who want to build loyalty: look at them. And learn. There's no southerner who doesn't know that you can get a cheap, fresh, and adequate meal from WH when everyone else is closed. You don't have to wonder if it's a 24-hour location: they all are. You see the sign, you can go.
Can confirm; Waffle House is almost never what I want, but damned if I’m not excited every time I go because it’s 3am, I’m drunk, and I don’t have to eat Taco Bell.
The reliability really is a thing. I don’t even look for hours on a Waffle House, I just assume that if I can drive there they’re open.
I thought this index was over, as Waffle House faced legal issues? And is now closing earlier than it would have. The index fell because it became an index (what’s the name for that?)
It's my understanding that WH brings in a dedicated storm team to run affected stores rather than putting the screws on their regulars during a crisis.
"Jump teams are made up of Waffle House contractors, construction workers, gas line experts, restaurant operators, food providers and other associates who are assembled and ready to go wherever needed at a moment's notice. Their purpose is to help relieve local Waffle House operators and employees who need to evacuate, be with their families or tend to their homes when a storm hits, and help make sure restaurants are able to open quickly after a storm or stay open during a storm"
I hope the employees are taken into consideration and are not pressured into going to work when they should be with their. Didn’t read the article, so maybe that’s an indicator as well. If the employees can go to work then the storm wasn’t so bad.
It might be worth reading the article! Although a sibling comment up the page linked to a clearer description of WaHo’s disaster operations [0]. Since the chain’s operations are radically standardized, they assemble “jump teams” of repair workers and operators from out-of-region. Those are the ones operating the restaurants til local staff can get back.
Fun fact: Waffle House is standardized to the point that there's a single standard restaurant layout. If a location gets too busy they won't expand it because that would mess with the layout, they build a second Waffle House next to it.
