Waffle House Patron Cooked His Meal While Staff Slept

An inebriated and very hungry man knew what he had to do after stopping at a Waffle House in South Carolina in the early morning hours of Thursday.

When the man arrived after spending the previous night drinking, he found the staff at the restaurant sleeping, so he decided he would cook a meal for himself and took selfies with his phone while cooking.

In a Facebook post, Alex Bowen wrote that he stopped at the West Columbia Waffle House because he was not able to sleep due to being so hungry. However, when he arrived it was obvious the restaurant’s cook did not have the same problem Bowen had.

Bowen found the Waffle House employee sound asleep.

Bowen wrote that he looked all over for an employee after waiting between 5 and 10 minutes at the cash register for one. He found just one but the employee he found was sleeping in one of the booths, where normally customers are enjoying a meal.

Bowen wrote that he then decided to take matters into his own hands and made himself his own meal. The Waffle House customer said he cooked himself a double bacon cheesesteak and threw on extra pickles.

When he completed his self-serve cooking at the Waffle House, Bowen said he cleaned up the grill, collected his sandwich and walked out of the restaurant.

Bowen said getting behind the grill is not something he would normally do, but because he had been drinking, he said that likely helped encourage him to go ahead and make his own meal.

Bowen returned to the Waffle House later that day and paid for his sandwich. So that he could prove that, he took a photo and posted it on Facebook smiling with the employee from the Waffle House.

In a prepared statement released by the Waffle House, a spokesperson said employees made apologizes to Bowen and that the one who was photographed while sleeping in a booth at the restaurant was given a one week suspension by the company.

In the prepared statement by the Waffle House, the spokesperson said that due to safety reasons, Waffle House customers should never go behind the counter, but should receive a quality experience that is delivered by our friendly associates.

The statement went on to say that the restaurant chain was reviewing the incident and would be taking the appropriate disciplinary action.