On Labor Day 1955, Avondale Estates neighbors Joe Rogers, Sr., and Tom Forkner founded the first Waffle House restaurant at this location. Its name came from the most popular item on the original menu. Its emphasis on fast-food speed and round-the-clock service reflected mid-century shifts toward an automobile culture. As suburbs and the interstate highway system developed across the region and the nation, Waffle House expanded to more than 1,600 locations nationwide and became an American cultural icon open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In 2004, Waffle House reacquired the original restaurant building and opened it as a museum in 2008.