ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Ham and cheese omelet – on two. Scattered and smothered.
The ribbon was ready and so were the scissors. But long before the cutting came the cooking. Before the official ribbon cutting took place Wednesday morning, one could hear the orders ringing in the air inside the new Millbrook Waffle House.
The City of Millbrook and the Millbrook Area Chamber of Commerce held its ribbon-cutting ceremony for the much-anticipated opening of the Waffle House on Highway 14. Mayor Al Kelley said, “What started as a discussion five years ago has finally come to fruition. Many people have worked hard to make this happen, and they faced many obstacles. The long-awaited day has come, and we have one of America’s iconic restaurants open in Millbrook. It’s great to see that yellow sign here on Highway 14.”
It wasn’t an easy go. Problems with property, legal issues, and ongoing hurdles to jump caused one delay after another. Not to forget the Coronavirus impact as well. The original opening for the Millbrook Waffle House was olanned almost three months ago in late March.
“The Coronavirus shutdown happened about the time we were going to open,” Tim Wingard, store manager said. “That created another problem because we had plenty of people ready to work, and because of the shutdown we lost most of them. We are trying to do our best to become fully staffed so we can be open around the clock.”
For now, the location will be open first shift only, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wingard, an Army veteran of 23 years, started in the food service business when he was just 16 years old, and he is ready to go. “I’m hoping we can be open 24 hours per day soon – maybe in a month and a half, or two months. We are excited about our store, and we believe we are the right place in a great community. I can’t wait to be going around the clock.”
The City of Millbrook and Waffle House never gave up hope. Leading the charge for the City was Stuart Peters, City Engineer, and Project Manager. Peters credited Russ Holland, a former Waffle House executive, with the vision that got the project rolling five years ago.
“Russ was a critical component of this. He loved the idea of the Waffle House in Millbrook and loved the prospects of this location,” Peters said. “You just don’t know how thrilled I am about this. We had hiccups all along the way and it looked like the project would die at one point. The project was reconstituted a couple of years ago. We managed to get the infrastructure to the site and today we have our Waffle House. It’s a great day.”
