When is Waffle House opening its Port St. Lucie location?

PORT ST. LUCIE — If you've driven along Gatlin Boulevard, there's a chance you've seen the large "coming soon" sign outside Waffle House.

Waffle House has yet to announce a grand opening date, but hungry customers can expect to get their chocolate chip waffles and hash browns sometime after Memorial Day.

"A firm date has not yet been set, but we project the location will open to the public after Memorial Day, either later that week or the following week," said Vice President of Food Safety & Public Relations Njeri Boss. "Additionally, the restaurant will signal it’s open for business with a sign welcoming customers to stop in and meet the new Waffle House crew."

What is Waffle House?

Waffle House opened its first location in 1955 in Avondale Estates, Georgia.

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It was opened by Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner, neighbors in Avondale Estates who wanted to open a 24-hour, sit-down restaurant for their friends and neighbors, according to the Waffle House website. Throughout the half-century the chain has been open, it has expanded to 25 states with more than 1,900 locations.

Waffle House is also recognized as an unofficial metric — coined the Waffle House Index — to determine severe weather impacts for agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Waffle House Index consists of three levels: red, yellow and green.

Green means the restaurant is serving a full menu, signaling limited damage in an area and the lights are on. Yellow means a limited menu, indicating power from a generator, at best, and low food supplies. Red means the restaurant is closed, a sign of severe damage in the area or unsafe conditions, according to Waffle House's website.

“If you get there and the Waffle House is closed,” former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has said, "that’s really bad. That’s where you go to work.”

Where is the Port St. Lucie Waffle House?

Waffle House is at 1925 SW Gatlin Blvd., near the Sam's Club and Walmart Supercenter in Port St. Lucie.

Hours of operation have yet to be announced, but it will eventually be open 24 hours a day, Boss said.

Where are there Waffle House restaurants on the Treasure Coast?

It will be the third location in St. Lucie County, the only Treasure Coast county with the dine-in breakfast chain.

Fort Pierce has two Waffle House locations, less than a mile away from one another:

• 7147 Okeechobee Road.
• 5872 Okeechobee Road.

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @gonthescene.