Who Owns Waffle House?

It's common knowledge Waffle House is a solid and affordable place to get breakfast (particularly if you order hash browns in this crispy way), to the point where Anthony Bourdain loved it as well. We also know it's always open, even in the face of serious natural disasters. But less well-known is who actually owns it. Technically speaking, the owner is WH Capital, LLC, although this is just the corporate entity under which the whole chain falls. Perhaps the more meaningful answer is Joe Rogers Jr., the son of one of the chain's two founders, Tom Forkner and Joe Rogers Sr.

The founders knew each other as neighbors and opened the first Waffle House in the Atlanta suburb where they lived, Avondale Estates, in 1955. Rogers Sr. came from humble beginnings, writing in his autobiography, "Who's Looking Out for the Poor Old Cash Customer?", that his father died in the '60s with basically nothing. 

Rogers Sr. handed down control of Waffle House to his son in 1973 when he was only in his mid-50s, who has remained in charge ever since. Rogers Sr. once told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was a waffle cook, rather than an executive, so it's possible he thought his son was better placed to run the growing company. As a result, his son set about expanding Waffle House substantially, although the basics like the menu and atmosphere have remained pretty similar throughout the years. By the end of the '70s, the Rogers family had majority control over the company, which has remained private (the public can't buy shares), meaning Waffle House is firmly under the family's control.

In certain ways, Waffle House has stayed very close to its roots: For example, its headquarters are in Norcross, Georgia, less than 20 miles from where the first Waffle House opened. The decision to keep the company privately held might have been a way for the Rogers family to maintain control while preserving its culture. It was rumored Rogers resisted other companies' attempts to buy Waffle House, although there isn't much to confirm this.

Perhaps unusual for a chain this size, many Waffle House restaurants are corporate-run, meaning they're managed by the company's head office. The chain does have some franchise locations, but if you want to open one yourself, you'll have to work your way inside the company first, as they're not publicly available. When it does franchise, priority goes to those who already run Waffle Houses, so the company can stay as consistent as possible.

That said, there's one way to get at least a piece of Waffle House: be an employee. The company explicitly states this is the only way to invest in the chain, and its career listings indicate regular workers can purchase stock after a year of employment, and managers get even more options. (Again, since Waffle House isn't publicly traded, you can't sell that stock at the stock exchange, though).