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And my axe!

And on a more serious note: that was really interesting!

American here, I didn't know either since I've never lived in a hurricane prone area. Thanks to the op as well.

everyone knows the staff basically only gets paid in tips

Yeah, Europe is superior to the US.

I'm not British or anything, but I always thought that in the UK the local pub filled this function? A place to gather socially, eat, drink. I understand most people would go and drink beer there but do they not serve coffee? Tea, at least?

The staff is nice if you're nice. Most of them will be ready to throw down if you're an asshole though. Especially the cooks, if the cook exits out from behind the griddle, you have done fucked up big time.

They'll look mean, and your cook can at least handle a couple methheads(maybe more, depends on when they last stepped out back to take a bump), but if you're not there to cause problems, a lot of that demeanor can fall away.

Especially your owl crews. They gauge you upon entrance, you're either fucked to the gills to start shit, or you're that special kinda person who really just wanted some smothered, covered, and chunked hashbrowns at 1:45AM.

They are a contributing factor in the whole system of gratuity as pay. WH is an interesting niche in that, those that work there generally make decent money, like a good bit better than most fast food joints. It requires people skills, and a crisis management type of multitasking, but often there will only be the minimum required staff in the better run places. It is not too unusual to see a place with only 2-4 people working with a packed restaurant.

The gratuity culture is that you always must tip, but not excessively. However staying past your welcome/meal is not considered acceptable behavior, nor is showing up and not ordering. There are slower WH's in smaller towns where it is more acceptable to hang out when the place is not busy, but these are more like the exception. This is also a place that typically is associated with the idealized single working mom stereotype. You'll often find places where the employee shifts are flexible for these types of circumstances. There is often also some tangible drama to a WH, both from the staff and the customers. There are usually WH's within many residential communities or right on the outskirts. You'll often find the same people present as part of a regular routine. It usually does not involve dangerous culture or violence, but WH is a funny place to go find out and watch the drama of the local community if one is close to where you live.

When I lived in the suburbs of Atlanta, I knew everyone that worked at my local WH and could find out what was going on in the neighborhood based on the collective conversations that happened there. In a WH there is no real privacy or formality. It is one of the few places where striking up a conversation with anyone is acceptable if not expected. You can sit there and be quiet and answer tersely to indicate you just want to be left alone, but that is the exception.

This is part of the southern libertarian republicanism ideal of independent hard work to bootstrap success. This is an illusion that leads to decay and poverty, as time has shown, but is still a core part of southern culture. I'm not saying it is right or wrong. I live in California now. There are no Waffle Houses here because California does not participate in this poverty wage type of exception to ethical pay. Overall, there is no effective alternative to turn to for people on either side, customers or workers. Places like California do not have an equivalent establishment for ultra budget dining 24/7 either. I've lived in both areas long term. I don't know of a good solution.

Born in Huntsville Hospital... From one rocket town to the other. I can see Vandenberg launches from my roof.

I worked at the old wiffle horse at Jordan and University. There was a skid row motel behind it. Might have been the Scottish Inn. When they tore down the motel all the roaches moved into the restaurant. They tore it down and built the new one that's there now.

La Alameda used to be right there as well on University. They had coin op black and white TVs in the booths. Watched the Columbia disaster on one.

I don't appreciate the tone of your voice.

Illiteracy is far more common in the US than it should be, and the system sidesteps that issue, which I do commend them for. It's amazing though because, for whatever reason, I feel like they'd fire me when I couldn't hang.

Any reason to lump socially toxic in there with other descriptors? 🙂 Also I sure hope that convicts return/go to work instead of returning to the taxpayer-funded three hots and a cot!

Shoutout to the incredible Homebody Industries on the last point!

When covid hit there was a waffle house at the intersection of two major interstates and they just went "limited menu" until 6 a.m. like, you could get eggs, and juice. Coffee. And the place was always dead in the wee hours. But often staffed. I rarely went in there but it was the most interesting thing to look at when starting work at 3 or 4. I was trying to conceive crime plots involving the place, or just movie scripts