Maybe Waffle House Should Start Carrying Barbecue Sauce…?
Some people can be pretty picky about the way their food is prepared, the sauces and condiments used, how it’s cooked. Others are downright serious about it. Things can get ugly pretty quickly if a restaurant isn’t carrying a requested item.
Restaurant patron Willie Edward Drake, 43, of Columbus, Ohio, walked into a 24-hour Waffle House in the early morning hours and sat down at the counter. He ordered something to eat, and when his meal arrived, Drake felt it needed some barbecue sauce, so he asked a waitress for it.
She replied they had none, and that was enough to set Drake off. He just couldn’t believe his beloved eatery wasn’t carrying it. According to a sheriff’s report of the incident that ensued, the man “began screaming obscenities and insulting” the restaurant’s workers, attempting “to create conflict, saying things such as, ‘I wouldn’t (expletive) ask you if I didn’t know you had it!’
The customer’s remarks “caused the employees and customers to fear for their safety,” so officers were called in. Drake apparently even went so far as to add, “I’ll go to (expletive) jail over some barbecue sauce!”
Seems no one ever told him to be careful what you wish for. When the police arrived to handcuff him for disturbing the peace, Drake was “uncooperative and disorderly.” His wish was indeed granted, and he was hauled off to the county jail.
A quick peek at Drake’s criminal history showed this wasn’t the first time he had lashed out in a fit of rage. The man had been jailed previously on a disorderly conduct charge. At the time of the most current arrest, officers also discovered Drake had been staying at a hotel up the street from the Waffle House.
Drake was held on a $390 bond. The Waffle House was later contacted to see if it, in fact, carried barbecue sauce. And, reports confirm, the restaurant does not, nor does the county jail.
“We stay with the basics on condiments,” Sheriff David Davis joked. “Mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise.”
Evidently, it takes a brave soul to work at a Waffle House, especially in those early morning hours, which tend to bring out a more ‘interesting’ crowd. Waffle House, Inc., is an American restaurant chain with more than 2,100 locations in 25 states in the United States. The company’s headquarters is in Georgia and many of its locations are in the south. The chain prides itself on being open around the clock.
Just a couple months ago, on Christmas Day, Jasmine Jackson, 28, was charged with damage to real property, assault and battery, and simple misdemeanor possession of marijuana after instigating a fight at a Waffle House in Fayetteville, North Carolina, that left the restaurant torn to pieces and littered with debris. Police made their arrest after arriving at the shocking scene and discovering the restaurant had been totally trashed due to an altercation that involved several people.
One restaurant-goer turned on his phone and captured footage of the ordeal, posting it on Facebook. On the video, workers wearing Christmas hats and festive attire tried to pull patrons off of each other. The videographer can be heard in the telling everyone to calm down and “chill” as they continue to pick up various items and chuck them across the room.
It isn’t entirely clear what set Jackson off, but it very well could have been the assortment of condiments the restaurant was or was not carrying the night she stopped in.
Sources:
Ga. man at Waffle House screams, ‘I’ll go to jail over some barbecue sauce!’ And does
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