When your local Waffle House locks its doors, it's time to evacuate. The venerable chain is famous for staying open through almost any weather conditions. But when storms are projected to be catastrophic, even Waffle Houses will close until the danger passes.
Wouldn't it be great if there was a map tracking Waffle House closures across the country? While the company prefers to keep this information private, computer scientist Jack LaFond took matters into his own hands. He created a service that scraped data from the Waffle House website to provide this valuable information.
When LaFond shared his website on Twitter, it was an instant hit—with everyone except Waffle House executives. They promptly sent him a cease and desist letter, claiming intellectual property infringement. Though LaFond responded cordially and the company replied in kind, they insisted he take down the site. He complied gracefully. Read his full account of receiving the cease and desist letter on his website.
Previously:
• Waffle House has its own record label and the songs are in the restaurant jukeboxes
• The subtle brilliance of Waffle House
• Waffle House now hitting you with a surcharge for every single egg you order
• Entire Waffle House pitches in to get High School graduate to the ceremony
• 'Starry Waffles' is a Van Gogh-inspired painting featuring a Waffle House
• New edition of 'Waffle House Vistas' highlights new photographs and essays about the iconic Southern restaurant
• Watch Anthony Bourdain eat at Waffle House and %$#!ing love it
• Woman posed as Waffle House worker and stole from the register after her fake shift
