DeKalb town where Waffle House began mourns founder Joe Rogers Sr.

It all started in Avondale Estates: the glowing yellow beacon in the sky, the scattered, smothered and covered hash browns, the late nights, the comfort.

The small DeKalb County city where the Waffle House empire began is now mourning co-founder Joe Rogers Sr. He died Friday at age 97, leaving a legacy as a man obsessed with customer service, who saw himself more as a “waffle cook” than an executive.

“He was a World War II vet and an all around good guy,” Mayor Jonathan Elmore said Tuesday. “I think he’s someone we should all look up to.”

Rogers founded Waffle House in 1955 with neighbor Tom Forkner. The pair had met when Rogers bought a house from Forkner, who was in the real estate business.

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