Story Archive

Self-Service

It was the wee hours of the morning, and Alex Bowen was hungry, drunk, and unable to sleep. So he did what many Americans would do: he went to a Waffle House, in this case, in West Columbia, S.C. He walked up to the register. No one was there. He waited 10 minutes. No one turned up. He walked out and looked around. Still, no Waffle House employees. But Bowen was hungry, he was at a Waffle House, and he was going to eat. So he made himself a sandwich, and even cleaned the grill when he was done — and took pictures to post online. “I give all the credit to my old friend vodka,” he said later. At some point, he did spot a worker, who was asleep in a booth. Waffle House said the sleeper would be disciplined. And: “In a related note, obviously Alex has some cooking skills, and we’d like to talk to him about a job since we may have something for him,” the chain said. (AC/WIS Columbia) ...Just so long as he doesn’t have to prepare his own paycheck.