Open Source: NC is a Waffle House state | Direct IRS tax filing coming | Wolfspeed closure

I’m Brian Gordon , tech reporter for The News & Observer , and this is Open Source, a weekly newsletter on business, labor and technology in North Carolina.

Each morning, workers at the Highway 55 Waffle House in Durham serve a regular they know as “Mr. Mack” the same precise order: chicken cut up (though sometimes pork chops), two eggs scrambled (never any cheese, he will complain), pecan waffles with sugar-free syrup, hot sauce for the chicken, a Coke Zero, and two cold butters. Waffle House typically serves butter at room temperature, so the last request requires staff to fetch cold containers from storage.

If Mr. Mack ever tired of this Waffle House location, he’d have several others near South Durham to try. Drive six minutes west. Or 10 minutes northeast. Or 10 minutes southeast.

North Carolina isn’t the Waffle House state. That would be Georgia, which supports more than twice as many stores (around 435) as any other state. In 1955, two neighbors in an Atlanta suburb opened the first Waffle House, a moment the company website states, “that would change the world.”

Not sure about the entire world (Waffle House is only in the U.S.), but the 24/7 purveyor of bacon, waffles, hash browns and coffee has certainly made its mark across the Tar Heel State. North Carolina today has 186 Waffle House locations , trailing closely behind Florida for the second highest. The most western North Carolina restaurant is in mountainous Jackson County while Waffle Houses on the state’s Atlantic coast are known to remain open during and after hurricanes, even without power. The company is proud to use a color-coded storm severity metric known as the “Waffle House Index,” which a former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator is credited with coining.

“We don’t really have a closing procedure,” a server at a Durham Waffle House told me this week.

Saturday Aug. 24 is National Waffle Day , and ahead of the holiday, I spent a morning at the defining waffle chain of the American South. I ordered a classic waffle and watched it be placed at my table, fluffy and golden brown, in 3 minutes and 58 seconds. And I spoke to a handful of customers who are drawn to the chain with the yellow sign and black font.

Diandra Alvarez, 29, was halfway through a shift driving Uber when she started craving Waffle House and knew one would be near. Selecting a side booth, she ordered the All-Star Special with bacon and chocolate chip waffles.

“It’s just cheap and quiet and quick,” said Alvarez, a Chapel Hill resident. “I like to come here and chill, listen to music.”

Nadilynn and Alex, a married couple now living in Wake Forest, said Waffle House was always their go-to pit stop back when they resided in New York and would visit the South. “It feels very small town, like you could step back in time,” Nadilynn said. “There’s a humbleness to it.”

With a jukebox, placemat menus, and counter top seating, the chain has a somewhat quaint diner feel — albeit with the standardization of a chain. It’s now in 25 states, as far west as Arizona and as far north as Pennsylvania. But it remains rooted in the South.

Regional labor advocates say Waffle House must do more to serve its workers. In an online petition, the Union of Southern Service Workers lists three specific demands: to better protect staff (including during storms), to eliminate a meal deduction policy , and to pay workers $25 an hour.

In March, Waffle House employees in an Atlanta suburb went on strike, and last September, Durham staff publicly rallied for better pay and safety. I reached out to Waffle House by email for its response to these labor demands. A company spokesperson thanked me for contacting but said, “We have no statement to provide at this time.”

NC joins Direct File. Intuit and H&R Block comment.

“The IRS finally has an answer to Turbo Tax,” a March headline in The Atlantic proclaimed, referring to a new program called Direct File . Last year, the federal government piloted Direct File with 140,000 taxpayers, boasting it enabled them to file their federal taxes fast and for free.

The U.S. Treasury Department says Americans spend $270 and 13 hours on average filing yearly taxes. Ahead of the 2025 tax filing season, the government is opening up Direct File to all eligible taxpayers “who file simple federal tax returns.” And in certain states, the program will also direct users to free state-supported tools.

On Friday, North Carolina became the latest state to join Direct File. It also announced a free program for filing state taxes, designed with the help of the nonprofit Code for America.

“Filing taxes is often stressful, expensive, and time-consuming for North Carolina taxpayers and families,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement. “The IRS Direct File tool helps remove unnecessary hurdles and fees by allowing taxpayers to file directly with the IRS for free, keeping more money in their pockets.”

Cooper’s office credited the Inflation Reduction Act passed under the Biden administration for funding the tool. North Carolina estimates roughly 1.25 million residents will be eligible to use it in the next filing window. The system isn’t for everyone as it only accepts certain tax forms like W-2s.

Major tax software companies like Intuit and H&R Block have previously lobbied against a federal tax filing option. I reached out to both providers this week and heard neither supports Direct File.

“We continue to believe this program is not in the best interest of Americans — either those who use it or those who are funding it with their tax dollars,” H&R Block said in an email. The company said its free tax filing service can provide users greater average refunds than Direct File.

Intuit, which owns TurboTax, called Direct File “a solution in search of a problem.”

“Every American can already file their taxes for free, without any cost to the government or taxpayers,” company spokesperson Tania Mercado said in an email. “This was true on the day Direct File was launched and remains true today.”

H&R Block and Intuit both offer free tax filing services to qualifying taxpayers. But according to 2019 ProPublica investigations , each company has made it difficult for eligible customers to find their free options — including via search engines. Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission ordered Intuit stop what the agency deemed deceptive advertising practices.

Direct File may or may not prove a legitimate rival to the big private tax software providers. When the IRS announced the pilot program would become permanent in May, Intuit’s stock immediately dropped 6%. But it’s since rebounded to near an all-time high.

Facing capital crunch, Wolfspeed acts

Between January and May, the Durham semiconductor company Wolfspeed lost close to half its value on Wall Street. Since then, the local silicon carbide chipmaker has seen its stock price fall by half again .

Investors have concerns over Wolfspeed’s liquidity, and on Wednesday, the company made a decision it hopes will shore up doubt. Wolfspeed said it will close its 150-millimeter production facility , housed at its Durham headquarters campus, as it continues to prioritize manufacturing larger and potentially more lucrative 200-millimeter substrates.

Most of the company’s 200-millimeter production will occur outside the Triangle. Wolfspeed is revving up its massive materials facility near the western Chatham County town of Siler City . It then plans to ship these materials to its existing fabrication plant in New York State’s Mohawk Valley.

Wolfspeed didn’t provide details on when it will close the 150-millimeter factory or what will happen to those who currently work there. Will they be given the opportunity to transfer to Siler City or Mohawk Valley? Move to the 200-millimeter materials facility that will continue operating in Durham? Wolfspeed said it will provide a clearer timeline during its next earnings call in November.

Morrisville drugmaker challenges FDA decision

Liquidia , a publicly traded pharmaceutical company in Morrisville, sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week over the federal agency’s recent decision to grant three-year exclusivity rights to a rival medication from United Therapeutics.

On Aug. 16, the FDA granted tentative approval for Liquidia’s Yutrepia , an inhalation powder designed to treat patients with certain lung issues. Liquidia considers Yutrepia to be its lead product candidate. But in applying an existing three-year exclusivity to United Therapeutics’ drug Tyvaso , the FDA ensured Yutrepia cannot gain final approval until May 2025.

“The FDA’s action improperly allows United Therapeutics to tack on yet another regulatory exclusivity, stifling competition and patient choice,” Liquidia CEO Roger Jeffs said in a statement Thursday.

As of March, Liquidia had 144 employees , and it occupies a 45,000-square-foot facility right on the border of Research Triangle Park. It’s market capitalization of $740 million is dwarfed by that of Maryland-based United Therapeutics ($15.4 billion.)

Clearing my cache

• Around 17,000 AT&T workers in the Southeast have been on strike since last Friday , including hundreds in the Triangle area. On Wednesday, the Communications Workers of America and AT&T entered federal mediation to resolve their contract dispute.
• Triangle serial entrepreneur Scot Wingo will step down as CEO of the mobile car servicing startup Spiffy. In a LinkedIn post, Wingo said he will continue to focus on his Triangle Tweener Fund.
• Last year, an alleged stalker duped Verizon into revealing a target’s phone information. This week, the Triangle-area victim sued Verizon for its mistake.

National Tech Happenings

• A federal judge in Texas overturned a new Federal Trade Commission rule that would effectively ban most employee noncompete agreements. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce , among others, had sued to stop the FTC action. Noncompetes are common in North Carolina , and some Triangle employees have been sued for allegedly violating them.
• The owner of Circle K is making a bid to buy 7-Eleven , a deal that would create one of the world’s biggest retail groups . Circle K is owned by a Canadian chain while 7-Eleven’s parent company is Japanese.
  
  

• A judge blocked a planned sports streaming service between ESPN , Fox and Warner Bros , citing antitrust fears. Another streaming service, FuboTV , had filed to stop the collaboration.

Thanks for reading!