Waffle House closed several diners in Florida even before Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall.
The company announced on Tuesday afternoon that it closed restaurants in the Tampa area, CBS News reported. The company expanded the list of restaurants temporarily closed on Wednesday morning.
Typically Waffle Houses are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, USA Today reported.
Tuesday afternoon – Tampa and Fort Meyers areas:
Wednesday morning – Tampa, Fort Meyers, Orlando, Ocala and Daytona:
“As we stated during Hurricane Helene, our mission remains to keep our Associates out of harm’s way. Accordingly, in areas predicted to be hardest hit, we will preemptively close restaurants with a goal of reopening them as soon as it is safe to do so to serve the communities that have there for us over the years,” company spokesperson Njeri Boss told USA Today .
The Waffle House Index, or when Waffle House locations are open during severe weather, can be an indication of how bad a storm will be.