It is a question that has puzzled philosophers, sociologists and night-shift grill masters for years, probably. What is it about Waffle House, the charming and iconic American diner chain, that invites so many fights on its premises?
For anyone unfamiliar with this obscure Americana lore, the mostly southern chain — with 1,900 locations in 25 states — has something of a reputation. From Lana Del Rey’s ‘waitressing’ gig to the Jonas Brother’s hit song, the unlikely American obsession is widespread.
Halie Booth was involved in one of the most infamous Waffle House brawls ever caught on camera.
But why Waffle House? The Independent’s Richard Hall investigates.
For anyone unfamiliar with this obscure Americana lore, the mostly southern chain — with 1,900 locations in 25 states — has something of a reputation. From Lana Del Rey’s ‘waitressing’ gig to the Jonas Brother’s hit song, the unlikely American obsession is widespread.
Halie Booth was involved in one of the most infamous Waffle House brawls ever caught on camera.
But why Waffle House? The Independent’s Richard Hall investigates.
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:07 That's probably clean blood off of every surface of a Waffle House.
00:10 [NOISE]
00:20 [MUSIC]
00:31 Waffle House is an American icon,
00:33 a family favorite that has charmed diners for nearly 70 years.
00:36 But when the sun goes down, for some reason, diners throw down.
00:42 [MUSIC]
00:45 To investigate this phenomenon, we came to Texas to meet a participant of
00:49 one of the most infamous brawls in Waffle House history.
00:52 >> You noticed Waffle House trending on Twitter this morning?
00:55 This is why.
00:57 Look at this.
00:57 >> Haley Booth became an online sensation when the video of her fight went viral.
01:03 The moment where she battered away a flying chair mid-brawl earned her
01:08 the nickname the Waffle House Avenger.
01:11 She inspired art and t-shirts with her face on.
01:13 She's since taken up MMA to perfect her skills even further.
01:19 >> Hello, how are you?
01:21 >> Hi, how are you?
01:22 >> Pretty nice to meet you.
01:23 >> My boyfriend texted me, he was like, hey, did you know you're on Fox News?
01:27 I get on my phone and I Google it and he's like, yeah,
01:31 you're on Fox News Waffle House fight.
01:33 And I went, and I see the video and it immediately clicked to which fight it was.
01:38 >> That water came straight out of the coffee pot and
01:41 that water's like 110 degrees.
01:43 >> Wow.
01:43 >> And she poured it.
01:46 She had also thrown grease that we cook with the hash browns and
01:49 use the eggs, she threw that over there.
01:50 >> Who is she throwing out there?
01:52 >> Just the group.
01:53 >> Just the group that was causing trouble.
01:55 >> Yeah. >> Right, yeah, yeah.
01:55 >> And now people are like, you're a folk hero, you're an Avenger, you're this.
02:01 I'm like, I'm me.
02:03 [LAUGH]
02:04 I can't walk in a straight line without tripping over my own feet.
02:09 [LAUGH]
02:10 >> The video didn't just make Haley a star,
02:13 it also reignited an age old debate.
02:16 Why do you think it is that all this happens at Waffle House?
02:19 >> I think it's because one, it's late night.
02:22 You get late night, you get impulsive at night.
02:25 I've seen some pretty crazy things and you can hear stories.
02:29 People have been shot up at Waffle Houses.
02:31 I've worked at ones that have bullet holes in them.
02:34 Fights have probably cleaned blood off of every surface of a Waffle House.
02:37 [MUSIC]
02:40 >> Waffle House wouldn't let us film inside for obvious reasons.
02:44 But maybe it's unfair to single out this beloved American icon,
02:47 which has brought hope to so many in their time of need.
02:50 Maybe the problem is much bigger than this one restaurant chain.
02:53 We went across town to another all night diner to find out if they face the same
02:58 problem.
02:59 Jatara Robinson has been working night shifts at Star's Cafe for years.
03:02 >> Is there a kind of mutual respect as a fellow night shift worker when you saw
03:06 that, that catch and that throwback?
03:09 >> It was a, excuse me, I think it was a bad ass move.
03:11 Like, cuz, you, she caught the chair in the air.
03:13 Not many people can just catch a chair in the air and throw it back to them.
03:17 Actually, when we're looking for servers for overnight,
03:19 I kinda need somebody who has a little bit more of a roughness and
03:22 who can really be, handle that type of situation.
03:24 Cuz in reality, to keep the business going, if that happens,
03:27 that server needs to keep serving and keep giving people out there.
03:30 So the fact that she could catch a chair, throw it back, and
03:32 going back to pouring people's coffee, that's pretty cool.
03:35 >> It's not that they, it's the alcohol is the difference, I guess, isn't it?
03:37 People are coming in late at night, they've had a few drinks.
03:39 >> Definitely.
03:40 People, they're, they're drunk as can be.
03:42 They don't really have a niceness towards other people.
03:45 Like, sometimes people will call you out your name.
03:47 They'll they'll throw things at you.
03:49 So you, you can only control yourself so much.
03:52 So as somebody who's worked in serving industry for a long time,
03:55 I understand the throwing the chair back at them.
03:58 Cuz it's like, no, I'm gonna protect myself.
04:00 >> Alcohol, late nights, and impatient customers, it all makes sense.
04:05 But here's the thing.
04:06 This kind of violence isn't just happening in late night diners.
04:09 It's happening all over.
04:11 In airports, retail stores, gas stations.
04:13 To dig deeper,
04:15 we found a criminologist who was kind enough to humor the independent.
04:19 >> I think that it's certainly the case that,
04:21 especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,
04:26 that we have seen empirical, verifiable increases in violence against
04:31 service workers.
04:31 Waffle House is not all that different in many ways from, say,
04:37 a grocery store or an airline counter.
04:40 In that you have people interacting with someone, in some cases,
04:44 assaulting someone, that is supposed to be providing them a service.
04:49 And I think there's a much broader and deeper set of conditions,
04:55 inequalities, economic systems, that recreate this very
05:00 ossified class hierarchy, where at scale, certain occupations,
05:06 again, servers, retail workers, flight attendants,
05:09 are more likely than other occupations and
05:14 other people to be perceived as less deserving of respect.
05:19 >> In other words, to stop the abuse of customer service workers,
05:22 we need to completely reform capitalism and eliminate inequality.
05:25 In the meantime, Haley would just like a little respect.
05:30 >> The people working in those jobs are people too.
05:36 They work at much lower pay than most people do, and
05:40 they're literally living barely paycheck to paycheck.
05:45 It's frustrating, it's hard.
05:47 You don't know what's happening in that person's life.
05:49 It's a complete stranger.
05:51 So treating people with the respect that you would like to be given,
05:56 it's the golden rule.
05:58 That's what they teach you when you're five,
05:59 treat others how you would like to be treated.
06:01 [MUSIC]