You know the storm is bad when Waffle House locks its doors. The monster winter storm sweeping the South has forced the famously resilient restaurant chain to close, signaling just how serious the weekend weather will be.
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The 24-hour Southern breakfast chain, famous for braving any storm to stay open, finally met its match and shut down locations in South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi on Saturday. According to multiple outlets, the closures were a “Code Red” response to Winter Storm Fern, which is moving across the Midwest and East Coast.
South Carolina issued its first ice storm warning since 2005, leading to widespread Waffle House closures across the state, according to The Post & Courier.
A waitress in Greenville told the outlet that the restaurant where she works closed at 5 p.m. Saturday. The employee, who has served there for nearly a decade, said she had never seen a preemptive weather-related closure. This includes the state’s hurricane history…
A Georgia employee noted it was the first time in her five years with Waffle House that it had closed early due to a storm.
“That’s insane,” the worker insisted to the outlet before adding, “Stay safe, everyone!”
Waffle Houses in Mississippi and Tennessee Also See Closures Due to Winter Storm
According to WAPT, four Waffle House locations in Vicksburg, Mississippi, also closed on Saturday. Officials had urged residents to stay indoors by 5 p.m. due to dangerous, icy conditions.
Meanwhile, in Tennessee, a Murfreesboro location threw in the towel. The all-night diner shuttered its doors on Saturday. They left behind a lonely sign promising a Sunday 7 a.m. comeback, according to WSMV.
Waffle House is so committed to staying open that FEMA created the “Waffle House Index” to gauge disaster severity. If they’re serving a full menu, it’s “green,” a limited menu means “yellow.” If they’re closed—well, it’s “red,” and you know things are bad.