In the South, Waffle House has long been a dependable stop — 24 hours, 7 days a week — for gravy-smothered biscuits, golden hash browns, waffles and coffee. For families, truck drivers and those leaving after a night of drinks, the Waffle House is usually nearby and open serving hot food.
It's rare that locations close, but for restaurants in the path of Hurricane Milton's historic power as it aimed for Florida, the company's storm trackers put a swath of locations where the diners are open under a code Red warning, meaning those stores must close for safety reasons during the storm.
The company has a team watching storms like these and updating its social media to tell customers which locations it has closed. As of 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Waffle House had closed locations all over the Tampa area, adding locations to the closure list across Fort Myers, Orlando, Ocala and Daytona. The store closures stretched from the western side of the state on the Gulf Coast where Milton was expected to make landfall, across the state to the east coast.
From one count earlier on Wednesday, around 50 locations were closed under a code Red for the Waffle House Index with all Tampa locations reportedly closed down.
These updated #whindex status maps reflect our closures as of 2PM this afternoon in advance of #HurricaneMilton. Please stay safe.
— Waffle House (@WaffleHouse) October 9, 2024
***Due to the potential for variations in Milton's path, this information is subject to change without notice. Please follow local guidance. pic.twitter.com/vqV3RO5KT4
Federal officials collaborate with the company to use the Waffle House Index as a guide on some of their decision-making during disasters —FEMA has called the index "pretty ingenious."
"If a Waffle House can serve a full menu, they’ve likely got power (or are running on a generator). A limited menu means an area may not have running water or electricity, but there’s gas for the stove to make bacon, eggs, and coffee: exactly what hungry, weary people need," the agency said in a 2017 release.
“If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?” FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said. “That’s really bad. That’s where you go to work," the company reported in a press release after it assessed its operations following Hurricane Irene.
The company says it has 1,600 restaurants that stretch from locations in the mid-Atlantic down to Florida and all along the Gulf Coast.
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While other companies are based in areas where extreme weather can hit, like the Lakeland, Florida-based Publix grocery stores, Waffle House has the unique challenge of typically staying open 24/7.
These companies first depend on the well-known Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, but the Waffle House Index is an extra layer of monitoring the company uses for its own unique challenges.
A Code Green means the restaurant will be serving a full menu and has power. The company says it's a sign that damage from a storm in the area is limited. A Code Yellow means there will be a limited menu served and they're using power from a generator.
A Code Red means the store has been closed and damage in the area is significant and conditions there are unsafe for customers and workers.
It's a disaster business strategy that was further "embraced" after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the company says.
Home goods and construction retailer Home Depot — headquartered just outside of Atlanta — said it would be closing stores in the path of Hurricane Milton starting Wednesday, and asked customers to monitor the company's website for updates on locations reopening.
