Joseph Wilson Rogers (November 30, 1919 – March 3, 2017) was an American businessman. He was co-founder and former CEO of the

Waffle House Waffle House, Inc. is an American restaurant chain with over 2,000 locations in 25 states in the United States. The bulk of the locations are in the Midwest and the South, where the chain is a regional cultural icon. The menu consists mainly o ...

franchise restaurant chain, which began business in 1955 in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and has grown to over 2,100 locations in 25 states.

Early years

Born in 1919 in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, he grew up there at 291 W. Deaderick Street, and graduated from Jackson High School in 1938. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Rogers served in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

as a

B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

pilot reaching the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Rogers started in the restaurant business as a short-order cook in 1947, at the

Toddle House Toddle House was a national quick service restaurant chain in the United States, which specialized in breakfast but was open 24/7. Lunch and dinner entrées included soups and salads and various sandwiches. Much of their business was takeout. His ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

., title=Joe Rogers profile: The cornerstone of Waffle House , publisher=ajc.com , date=2004-12-24 ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', December 24, 2004
/ref> By 1949, he had become a regional manager with the now-defunct

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

-based restaurant chain, and moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. There he met Tom Forkner, whom he bought a house from in the Atlanta suburb of Avondale Estates.Waffle House history
Forkner pressed Rogers to go into business together for a quick-service, sit-down restaurant in Avondale. Forkner later recalled Rogers telling him, "You build a restaurant and I’ll show you how to run it." Forkner suggested a Toddle House, but Rogers felt the chain wasn't proper for the market. After Forkner secured the property, the pair developed the concept of the Waffle House together: Forkner proposed the name, while Rogers suggested keeping a 24-hour schedule.

Waffle House

The first

opened on

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

weekend 1955, at 2719 East College Avenue in

Avondale Estates, Georgia Avondale Estates is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,567 in 2020. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area and is near Decatur. History In the 1890s, lots were sold in the area, which was known as Ing ...

. The restaurant was named after the most profitable item on the 16 item menu. The fragile nature of waffles also made the point that it was a dine-in, not a carry-out, restaurant, but it confused patrons as to meal availability other than breakfast. Rogers continued to work with Toddle House, and to avoid conflict of interest sold his interest to Forkner in 1956. In 1960, when Rogers asked to buy into Toddle House, and they refused, he moved back to Atlanta and rejoined Waffle House, now a chain of three restaurants, to run restaurant operations. Shortly after Rogers returned full-time, Forkner followed suit and left Ben S. Forkner Realty. After opening a fourth restaurant in 1960, the company began

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busines ...

its restaurants and slowly grew to 27 stores by the late 1960s, before growth accelerated. As of 2017, there are over 2,100 locations in 25 states. The company is privately held and doesn't disclose annual sales figures, but says they serve 2% of the eggs used in the nation's food service industry. The founders limited their involvement in management, Joe Rogers Jr. is Chairman, and Walt Ehmer is president and CEO.

Personal life

He was married to Ruth Jolley Rogers for 74 years, and she survived him. They had four children, two girls and two boys, and their eldest son, Joe Rogers Jr. became CEO of Waffle House in 1973.

Death

Rogers died on March 3, 2017, at the age of 97 in Atlanta.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Joe, Sr. 1919 births 2017 deaths American food company founders Fast-food chain founders American chief executives of food industry companies People from Avondale Estates, Georgia People from Jackson, Tennessee Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Businesspeople from Tennessee Waffle House people 20th-century American businesspeople

Early years

Waffle House

Personal life

Death

See also

References