Joe Rogers Sr., Co-founder Of Waffle House, Dead At 97

AVONDALE ESTATES, GA -- Joe Rogers Sr., the co-founder of Waffle House, has died, Patch has learned.

Rogers, who passed away Friday, is survived by his wife, Ruth, their four children, and 24 grand and great-grandchildren.

Read more: Hundreds pack memorial service for Waffle House co-founder Joe Rogers Sr.

Rogers took the eatery from its humble roots, beginning as a small diner in 1955 in Avondale Estates, to one of the largest 24-hour restaurants in the United States.

Rogers, along with co-founder Tom Forkner, opened the novel-at-the-time concept -- combining the speed of fast food with the service of a dine-in restaurant -- at 2719 East College Avenue near Decatur and the rest, as they say, is history.

The eatery quickly became a regional hit and a cultural force in the South when it started franchising in the late 1960s. The restaurant also brought "smothered and covered" into the national lexicon.

Rogers resisted the temptation to overhaul the eatery's menu -- the company boasted to use 2 percent of all eggs produced for the U.S. food service industry -- or to renovate the down-home, blue-collar architecture.

Rogers grew up in rural Jackson, Tennessee, where he learned how to survive despite a hardscrabble upbringing, he said in his book “Who’s Looking Out for the Poor Old Cash Customer?," published in 2000.

“When you have no car, no television, no radio, no telephone, no newspaper, and little money in the house, you’re left with nothing but people - your family, your friends, your neighbors,” Rogers said in his book. “All of your communication is person to person, and everything you do is built around relationships.”

Rogers was a short-order cook for Memphis-based Toddle House when he decided to strike out on his own with Forkner. After they opened their first diner, they branched out to four eateries in 1961. The business began to grow shortly afterward.

The company's first diner, still standing, is now a museum and one of the most sought-after landmarks in DeKalb County.

It is unknown at this time how Rogers, who was 97, passed away.

Today, the Norcross-based eatery has surpassed 2,100 locations in 25 states.

A memorial service for Rogers is planned for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center in Midtown Atlanta.

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