Waffle House brawl videos continue to go viral. But to regulars, it’s just part of the lore.
Waffle House #WaffleHouse
Say it with me: Rule No. 1 — don’t screw with Waffle House employees. They’ve seen more in one night shift than you have your entire life.
Waffle House — a Southern-based diner chain that comes as close to a house of worship for many as a restaurant can — has been trending online because of new footage that shows a Christmas Day brawl between customers and employees. The video shows a man throwing a chair toward an unidentified female employee, who effortlessly blocks and catches the chair with one arm.
One tweet with the clip has been viewed on Twitter more than 5 million times.
“She swiftly stopped the motion of the chair and discarded it,” one user wrote in a tweet. “Unfazed. She’s been here before.”
Versions of the video are also circulating in other tweets and on Reddit.
For Northeasterners, Waffle House locations are sparse at best. But growing up in Florida, the diner’s always been a source of comfort for me. (For those willing to drive, the closest Waffle House to the Philly area is in Elkton, Md.)
I take my hash browns smothered and capped. I order a cup of grits with my coffee before looking at the menu.
When I was a teen going to punk shows that ended late, Waffle House was a safe haven for my friends and me. As an adult, it has rounded off nights at the bar. No drink is too strong for the powers of a pecan waffle. And if you haven’t puked in a Waffle House bathroom we just haven’t had the same types of life experiences.
All of that’s to say: The latest brawl footage feat. She-Hulk catching a chair one-handed didn’t surprise me. That’s business as usual. And that’s because Waffle House employees are the strongest workers I’ve ever seen.
24/7 — 365
For better or worse, one could argue Waffle House gets as much press for its on-site fights as it does for its food. Maybe more?
It’s unclear where that relationship got its start, but a quick search for “Waffle House” on World Star Hip Hop’s site comes back with dozens of brawl and fight videos spanning several years. Brawls are so ubiquitous, they sparked a Daily Show skit earlier this year.
“You said you wanted the authentic Waffle House experience, right?” comedian Roy Wood Jr. tells host Trevor Noah in the segment. “The authentic Waffle House experience is watching strangers punch each other in the face.”
Waffle House employees have seen a lot. Like when Kid Rock got arrested for fighting in an Atlanta location. Or when a drunk woman mistakenly tried to wear a cheeseburger as her sandal. Part of that is because they’re always open.
Waffle Houses are known for being open 24/7-365. There’s even a widely circulated myth that the locations don’t have locks (they do). But it takes a lot for them to be used. In fact, if a location closes, it usually means severe hurricane damage.
The “Waffle House Index” is a notorious indicator of how bad a hurricane is hitting the South. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will refer to Waffle House closures as an indicator storm severity.
“If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?” the former FEMA administrator who created the index said, “that’s really bad. That’s where you go to work.”
Food journalist Andrew Knowlton put it best in 2015 when he pulled a 24-hour shift at his local Waffle House and wrote about his experience.
“Because of this round-the-clock service, crazy stuff famously goes down at the Waffle House,” he said. “There are robberies, cars crashed into facades, and, more commonly, obnoxious boozed-up customers simply behaving badly late, late at night. (Let’s be honest: If the French Laundry were open 24 hours a day, sketchy things would happen there too.)”
Still, it’s not all bleak.
Last year, a man went viral for documenting his 24-hour stay at a Waffle House after losing a Fantasy Football-related bet.
A clip of the late chef and personality Anthony Bourdain visiting a South Carolina Waffle House for the first time has gone viral nearly every year since it aired in 2015. In the Parts Unknown segment, Bourdain expresses childlike wonder over the pecan waffle, hash browns, and 24-hour service.
“Its warm yellow glow, a beacon of hope and salvation,” Bourdain said of the chain, at one point calling it “better than French Laundry.” (It’s only apt that Waffle House is being compared to what is considered one of the best restaurants in the country not once, but twice.)
Indeed, anyone who’s familiar with Waffle House and all its related lore knows that chair lady, in all her glory, while undoubtedly impressive, has probably seen worse and done wilder.
“This isn’t even her final form,” one Reddit user commented.
“Obviously not her first time blocking a chair,” said another. “It might even be part of WaHo’s new employee orientation.”
Honestly, I just hope people are tipping her and the rest of the kitchen staff well.