Waffle House Tour Butters Up Oxford for National Waffle Week

By Kassidy Desnoyer
Hottytoddy Intern
kcdesnoy@go.olemiss.edu

Oxford was one of the many stops Tuesday for the Waffle House Tour. Photo by Talbert Toole.

The LOU community was buttered up Tuesday in honor of National Waffle Week with a long overdue visit from an establishment that many citizens have been pleading for it to build in Oxford.

The beloved breakfast restaurant Waffle House is headed to different cities that do not have currently have a restaurant. Waffle House posted a tweet asking which college town they should pay a visit to for Waffle Week and Oxford was one of the top responses.

A pop-up Waffle House was set up in the Square on Tuesday giving complimentary waffles to the Oxford community in celebration of Waffle Week. In addition to waffles, the pop-up also featured custom Waffle House prizes.

“To reward these fans until a Waffle House is built, we will be popping up to mark the 2019 National Waffle Week and rewarding the citizens with free Waffle House food,” Waffle House said.

It is no secret that the Oxford community is behind a Waffle House getting built, and thanks to Mayor Robyn Tannehill, she has been rallying to build a restaurant recently.

Tannehill has used the power of social media, along with law professor David Case, to let the corporation know that the restaurant would be a great addition to the Oxford community.

Waffle House saw via Twitter the attention Tannehill and Case brought to finding a location in Oxford and knew it had to make a stop to show their appreciation, according to restaurant officials.

“We brought this event to Oxford as a way to thank Mayor Tannehill for her support of Waffle House and to acknowledge the attention she has brought to the company,” said Bobby Garner, senior vice president and Ole Miss alumnus of 1978.

Garner was one of the many staff members in attendance and said that the restaurant establishment has considered putting a location in Oxford many times.

“The turn out at this event, how excited the community is, and the Mayor’s commitment solidifies the decision to push for a location here,” Garner said.

Waffle House looks to expand its locations, and it has hopes of bringing the franchise to Oxford in the near future. It has seen countless Ole Miss students post on Twitter about driving to Batesville just to get their Waffle House fix. Therefore, coming to Oxford on their Waffle Week tour was a no-brainer.

“As nothing is confirmed and set in stone, we are here for Waffle Week and we are also aggressively looking at sites to build a Waffle House location in Oxford within the next year and we couldn’t be more excited,” Garner said.

In addition to Oxford, San Antonio, College Station, and Atlanta are among the luckiest cities that the Waffle Week pop-up is stopping at this week.

The idea behind the pop-up is to potentially expand to more locations, and Waffle House believes college towns are some of their best business.

Waffle House loves having locations in college towns because it is always successful in those areas.

“For the students away from home, it reminds them of a home-cooked breakfast that is delicious and affordable, college-aged students are some of our most loyal customers,” said Adam Stirgus, division manager of Waffle House.

This is the first year Waffle House has ever done a tour for Waffle Week, and so far it has been a great success. Many members of the Oxford community and Ole Miss students stopped by for blueberry waffles and to support getting a Waffle House in Oxford.

“When I saw that they were coming to Oxford I knew I had to show my support because the one thing I miss from home is having a Waffle House. My friends and I have driven to Batesville on countless occasions just to get our fix, and it’s the only thing that Oxford is missing,” said Camryn Sidley, an Ole Miss student.

Nothing is set in stone, however, the future does look promising to having a Waffle House in Oxford in the near future.