Waffle House still a disaster standard

MIAMI — Waffle House is known for staying open no matter what comes their way. But sometimes, the weather is too much to bear for the 24/7 greasy spoon.

Usually, nothing can stop a plate of smothered hash browns. But that was the case five years ago in Davie, Fla.

Hurricane Irma blew out a window at the Waffle House near Interstate 595. The restaurant had to close until the place was boarded up and fixed.

In Bradenton, a Waffle House shuttered in 2017 before the winds even picked up.

There is a Waffle House index. A former chief for the Federal Emergency Managment Agency used the status of the breakfast chains locations as an indicator for how quickly a place is likely to spring back after a hurricane.

The home of the AllStar Special has been codified with colors:

■ Green: Waffle House is serving a full menu and electricity is on.

■ Yellow: a limited menu, implying low food supplies and possibly the necessity of using generators.

■ Red: Waffle House has closed.

Waffle House locations are generally open around the clock, and under the Waffle House index, a closed breakfast spot is not a good thing.