A poster hung on the walls of Pensacola area Waffle Houses depicts a portrait of an employee holding a waffle hot off the iron. Normally, this wouldn’t be an unusual sighting for the iconic 24-hour diner , but this employee’s long-sleeved uniform is a rich red velvet and cuffed with white fur. His cheeks are red and rosy, a curly white beard hangs down to his shirt buttons and his yellow nametag reads “Santa.”
“Waffle House, a holiday tradition since 1955,” the poster reads.
Almost 70 years later, and Waffle House has been creating Christmas magic for customers ever since.
While there’s almost always a steady stream of customers in the Waffle House dining room, Christmas remains one of the busiest days of the entire year. So much so, a day-by-day “holiday playbook” is distributed weeks in advance “to make sure Christmas Day is completely smooth,” according to Krista Artinger, Waffle House’s Northwest Florida regional senior vice president of operation.
“Christmas morning is an exciting experience, no matter what side of the counter you’re on,” said Bert Thornton, retired president and chief operations officer of Waffle House Inc.