---
title: "Nation’s Restaurant News: Waffle House Founder Dies"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/78230dbb-5b51-4aad-aad7-afb6401945a4
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-waffle-house-founder-dies-10900
category: "Bakery & breakfast"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Bakery & breakfast"
published: 2017-03-07T14:09:31.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:32:25.455Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/13f3d94437309104d34f64d7e11bf8858078.jpg
---

# Nation’s Restaurant News: Waffle House Founder Dies

**TL;DR:** Waffle House founder Joe Rogers died at 97, leaving behind a legacy of 24-hour restaurants and a commitment to customer service. He opened the first Waffle House in Avondale Estates, Ga. in 1955 with partner Tony Forkner.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2017-03-07. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-waffle-house-founder-dies-10900).*

## Story

The founder of the 24-hour Waffle House chain died Friday at age 97, according to a recent Nation’s Restaurant News article.

“My father genuinely loved every customer who walked into a Waffle House, and customers immediately understood that,” said Rogers’ son, Joe Rogers Jr., chairman of Norcross, Ga.-based Waffle House Inc., said in a statement to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

In 1955, the Tennessee native opened the first restaurant in Avondale Estates, Ga., with his partner Tony Forkner. Forkner was in the real estate business and had sold Rogers his home before they became partners. The two were known to spend time together at the Norcross headquarters all the way into their late 80s.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Nation's Restaurant News (publication)
- customer service (topic)
- Waffle House (company)
- founder death (topic)
- restaurant legacy (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-waffle-house-founder-dies-10900). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/78230dbb-5b51-4aad-aad7-afb6401945a4).