Long before the rise of the fast casual chain restaurant phenomenon—evidence of which abounds in Baton Rouge—there was Norcross, Georgia-based Waffle House. The 24-hour diner, with its trademark yellow sign, has been a fixture along highways and country roads throughout the southern U.S. since 1955, with more than 1,500 restaurants in 25 states.
Though the brand has been around for more than half a century, its popularity shows no signs of slowing. Local franchisee Bo Miller, who owns the Waffle House at 2363 College Drive as well as nine others in the Capital Region, is planning to open five more restaurants in south Louisiana later this year, including locations in Central, Raceland, Lafayette, Opelousas and Lake Charles. When all are completed, he’ll have 32 restaurants in the southern part of the state.
“The restaurants do very well,” says Miller, whose territory includes everything in south Louisiana except the New Orleans market. “There’s a demand for them.”
Miller is also getting ready to remodel the College Drive location, which is the only Waffle House in the chain with a bar attached to it. Though the remodel has been planed for more than a year, Miller only recently filed for permits with the Department of Public works to completely renovate the wood-paneled interior of the 60-seat restaurant and its adjoining bar, Port Royal. The project will cost around $500,000 and should be completed within 45 days of the start of construction, he says. Miller says the previously announced renovation was delayed because it made more sense to concentrate on building new restaurants than remodeling an old one.
“I don’t know if they’ll be able to keep the wood paneling, though I hope so,” Miller says. “I don’t think it’s going to look terribly different. It’s just going to be updated.”
Perhaps because it has a barroom attached—or perhaps because of its central location at a busy intersection—Miller says his College Drive restaurant, with some 450 guests per day, is one of his busiest.
—Stephanie Riegel
