Waffle House is a restaurant chain with over 1600 locations found in 25 states in the United States. Most of the locations are in the Southern United States, where the chain remains a regional cultural icon. The northernmost Waffle House is located on State Route 45 just off I-90 in Austinburg, Ohio (near Ashtabula, Ohio). Waffle House is headquartered in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia, near Norcross.

The first Waffle House opened on Labor Day weekend, 1955 at 2719 East College Avenue in Avondale Estates, Georgia. That restaurant was conceived and founded by Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner, who both continue to own a majority of the company today. Rogers had started in the restaurant business as a short-order cook in 1947, at the Toddle House in New Haven, Connecticut. By 1949, he had become a regional manager with the now-defunct Memphis-based Toddle House chain, and was moving to Atlanta. He met Tom Forkner when buying a house from him in Avondale Estates.

Rogers' concept was to marry the speed of fast food with table service and around the clock availability. He told Forkner "...You build a restaurant and I’ll show you how to run it,”’ recalls Tom Forkner.

James Christopher "Jim" Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian and actor.

Gaffigan was born in Chesterton, Indiana and attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. He is the youngest of six children and often jokes about growing up in a large family. He attended one year at Purdue University, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He graduated from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in 1988. Jim Gaffigan wrestled in High School and stated, while on Joe Rogan's podcast, that he played College Football (division 3).

Gaffigan's comedy routines often include humorous, high-pitched "asides" representing commentary on his performance from a hypothetical naive and easily offended audience member. These were inspired by his sister.^{[citation needed]}

Gaffigan is also known for routines or skits relating to being lazy and eating food, especially popular routines regarding Hot Pockets, cake, and bacon. In 2004 Gaffigan's stand up material was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. His 2006 album, Beyond the Pale, consisted primarily of material regarding food and American eating habits. The album was accompanied by an hour-long special on Comedy Central of the same name, which was released on his DVD. His 2009 album, King Baby, was also a television special filmed in Austin, Texas at the end of his "The Sexy Tour". Comedy Central released King Baby on DVD. In a March 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Gaffigan defended his naming of the tour, stating that he thought it would be funny that parents would be unsure about whether to bring their teenage children to the show.