116 Waffle Houses to stay open under deal

JOEY IVANSCO / jivansco@ajc.com
Waffle House is based in Norcross.
WAFFLE HOUSE
• Headquarters: Norcross
• Founded: 1955
• Restaurants: 1,553
• Background: Started by Joe Rogers Sr., a former Toddle House manager, and Tom Forkner, who worked in real estate, when they opened the first Waffle House in Avondale Estates.


116 Waffle Houses to stay open under deal
Restaurant chain takes control of locations owned by largest franchisee, now in Chapter 11

By JOE GUY COLLIER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Waffle House has taken control of more than 100 restaurants once owned by Northlake Foods, a Tampa, Fla., franchisee that filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

The move keeps open 116 restaurants that employ about 3,500 people across the Southeast. Northlake, the largest Waffle House franchisee, operated restaurants in Florida, Georgia and Virginia.
Northlake’s largest shareholder was W.B. Johnson, an Atlanta businessman who owned Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. before selling it in the 1990s to Marriott. Johnson was sued by other Northlake shareholders for reportedly using Northlake money to pay for aircraft, a Buckhead office and other expenses unrelated to the Waffle House business.

Under a bankruptcy plan that cleared this week, the Northlake restaurants have been transferred to East Coast Waffles, a wholly owned subsidiary of Norcross-based Waffle House.

Waffle House wanted to take over the restaurants because it saw value in the outlets, said Jon Waller, general counsel for Waffle House and an officer for the newly formed East Coast Waffles.
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