Landmark Grapevine eatery dishes it out

Stop by Waffle Way any morning, and you're likely to see a tableful of men just to the right of the entrance sharing food and stories. They are known to the servers who see them once, sometimes twice a day as the "Coffee Critters" or, more recently, as the ROMEOs.

"Retired Old Men Eating Out," Owner Lynda Hawkins explains with a hearty laugh. "My customers are what have kept me going all these years. Especially with the economy as bad as it's been, we've gone through some bleak times, but we've struggled and kept on."

Hawkins has owned Waffle Way since Sept. 28, 2001, but her history with the Northwest Highway diner serving up breakfast and lunch six days a week started 14 years before, when Arlene and Doyle Dickerson built the restaurant where a gas station once stood.

Hawkins knew the Dickersons growing up because back then, she says, "everybody knew everybody," so she was not surprised when Arlene asked her at church one day whether she wanted to help out with the new venture. Hawkins had been working at the Burger Box, where Burritos Locos now stands, and decided about a week before Waffle Way's opening in August 1987 to join the team.

"I had never waitressed before and I wasn't sure about that, but they only needed a cook one day a week, so Arlene said why don't you try it?" Hawkins said. "I liked it real well."

There were not many restaurants in town at the time, and Waffle Way was one of the only places in the area to eat breakfast out. Thus, the restaurant — open 24 hours daily at the time — became a microcosm of Grapevine itself. Neighbors, longtime friends, former teachers that Hawkins had trouble learning to call by their first name; she knew nearly all the customers, and she loved her job, serving the people who made Grapevine, Grapevine.

"The restaurant was a huge success," she said. "Back in 1987 in Grapevine, IHOP wasn't here, Waffle House wasn't here. She opened this and it took off. Everyone came."

The restaurant evolved over the years as the menu changed with the times, and hours condensed as more and more restaurants came to town. But 25 years later and on the second generation of owners, Hawkins' restaurant still buzzes with customers served by Hawkins' daughters and several staff members who have been there for years.

Waffle Way's menu includes the regular spread of breakfast favorites, from omelets and pancakes to breakfast meats, biscuits and French toast. Servers make sure to ask customers not only how they want their eggs or which bread they want for toast, but how crispy they like their bacon and which of a variety of syrup flavors they enjoy. The menu's flip side offers a selection of sandwiches, burgers, salads, chicken fried steak and more, and homemade pies finish out the home-cooking experience.

But the crowning glory, literally appearing at the top of the menu, are the waffles. Flavors include original, pecan, banana pecan and chocolate chip; toppings include blueberries, strawberries, cherries, whipped cream — even fried chicken — and that is all before choosing one of several syrups. There are times Hawkins misses the old Grapevine, she says, but she has photos of all the old greats tucked into booths at Waffle Way. Now her mission has switched to serving newcomers good food and good stories.

"They say it takes a village to raise a child, and this was my village," she said. "This restaurant has been a part of Grapevine since it opened its doors, and as new people have come in, they've just joined the crowd."

Customer Favorites

• Western Omelet – Justin Kendrick, "I've eaten here almost every day since I was born, so 23 years! I also like the fiesta salad."
• Chicken Fried Chicken – Charles Steapp
• Monterrey Chicken– Jim Tuggey, "We've been coming here just about every day for six or seven years. It's Lynda and her two daughters that make it what it is."
• Key Lime Pie – Janet Tuggey

Waffle Way, 1206 W. Northwest Hwy., 817-481-3908, www.wafflewayllc.com

Hours: 6 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday-Saturday