Serving up more than just waffles down south

In the south, Waffle House is like a Dunkin Donuts up north, they are everywhere and everyone goes to them...all the time. So it is no surprise that customers at Waffle House come from all different backgrounds, cultures, and religions but the recent string of criminals and terrorists that have stopped by for some waffles were definitely unexpected. There are over 1,600 Waffle Houses across the south and over the past summer for three straight weeks, many have been full of crime. At a few Georgia and Atlanta locations, two men repeatedly placed take-out orders, waited for the food to cook, and then arrived at the Waffle House and held up the cashier demanding all of the cash. The two suspects of that crime were arrested but the crimes still continued. At a Waffle House in Georgia, four elderly men were arrested for plotting terrorist attacks in Atlanta. The FBI surveillance tapes had caught the men in their frequent meetings at a specific Waffle House where they planned the attack. When a Florida state representative suggested that the death penalty be carried our by electrocuting or having a firing squad to kill the inmates, he said that he heard of the idea from a constituent...at a Waffle House. The remainder of the crimes committed at Waffle Houses were armed robberies. However, in one Waffle House, a fugitive and bank robber were caught. Because of the recent crimes, Waffle House opened up a museum dedicated to the chain restaurant to show customers they are not crime-ridden, just unlucky. Many people have began to doubt the safety of Waffle Houses but the customers interviewed in this article vowed to remain loyal customers.

Robbie Brown, the author of At Waffle Houses, a Side of Drama With Breakfast, used a tremendous amount of logos when presenting information about the crimes committed at or involving Waffle Houses. Brown used statistics referring to the amount of Waffle Houses affected by the crimes and included information released by the police who were involved in the cases. He also used pathos when he included statements from true customers of Waffle House, “Nah,” she said. “We’ll keep coming to Waffle House. We’re not that worried.” He defended Waffle House with support from their customers and their business representatives. All of the input Brown received was positive, the customers were not afraid of a few crimes. A spokeswomen from Waffle House said that she strongly believed that they did not have any more crimes than other 24 hour chains did. Brown also appeared to believe in Waffle House because he did not include any negative comments towards their recent struggles. As Bostonians "run on Dunkin", Southerners live on Waffles.


At Waffle Houses, a Side of Drama With Breakfast by Robbie Brown
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/us/at-waffle-houses-a-side-of-drama-with-breakfast.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB