17 hours Ago
Christmas morning is usually a time of being with family and opening presents. But for some people, it’s a time for bacon and eggs — or maybe an early-morning hamburger — at a cramped burger joint. Waffle House was open all 24 hours of Christmas Day, and people came hungry.
For Ivan Stadler, it was a chance to get something before everybody else got up. He said he goes to Waffle House just about every Christmas, and it is his favorite part of the holiday. Christmas is the busiest day of the year at Waffle House, said waitress Christie Davis.
She likes meeting new people, and the money she gets as a server is good. Besides, it’s mandatory. She said this was her 23rd year working as a server on Christmas Day.
“Every year is memorable because it just gets busier and busier every year,” Davis said. “You’d think people would stay home, but no. And it’s like, ‘They’re not busy,’ but, oh yeah.
” She wanted people to know she and the other servers had given up time with loved ones to work on Christmas Day. “Many of us have kids, grandkids, and over the years, we must sacrifice spending our holiday mornings,” she said. Jessica Velanzon came to the Waffle House with her daughter, Carina, 7, and her wife, Jai Kay.
This has been a holiday tradition for them ever since they moved to the area in 2018. It’s one of the few times they get to go because, most of the time, the place is too busy with the college kids and everyone else. “It’s a chance for her to splurge on sugar,” Velanzon said.
“And then she joined the tradition,” she said, indicating Kay. She and Velanzon have been together for about a few years. “And I was like, Waffle House?” Kay recalled.
Velanzon and Carina planned to have chocolate chip waffles. That’s the most fun part, Velanzon said..
