[Kings Waffle] Chapter 14: The First Family
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I gripped the handle and kept an eye on the rolling, digital numbers. Right around $10, I let go of the pump. “That oughta be good for now,” I figured, just enough gas to get me by until the next payday. I hopped in the car and got ready to head towards my job of the moment. It wasn’t a bad gig by any means, but it was a stop gap—a situation I had never thought I’d find myself in. As I got ready for another night of anxiety surrounding my future and pretending I knew how to sell shoes, a Fed Ex truck passed me and my phone rang.
It was...
Jeff
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| - May 31, 2020. |
I knew Jeff first as a Waffle House cook, but perhaps “personality” is a better word. A well known presence throughout the district, he had been working at various locations since 1996. The best memories of him from my early days of showing up at Kings Waffle don’t center around what he cooked, but rather the stories he told and the way we discussed movies—both of us finding an enjoyment in films like Clerks, Mallrats, Dogma, Chasing Amy, and how those all brilliantly came together in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. Over the years, I knew Jeff better outside of the store than within it—whether we were smoking a cigarette on the curb out front or the few times I caught one of his karaoke performances. While Jeff is known at Waffle House’s throughout the region for being this wonderful human being, he has a second group of admirers at the various bars throughout Cincinnati. Because, whether he wants to admit it or not, he's a karaoke legend—a master of vocal impressions who can make you laugh uncontrollably while perfectly replicating the cast of "Family Guy" or cause you to gasp as he perfectly imitates a duet between Dr. Dre and Eminem. I’ve never been one for karaoke myself, but it’s hard not to enjoy the activity when you’re watching your friend nail all the notes right down to the proper inflections and lyrics—capturing the attention of the bar and receiving wild applause. I never got up the nerve to sing on those nights with Jeff, but I did once accept his challenge to eat a cheeseburger from Steak & Shake that featured seven meat patties and seven slices of cheese after a few of us had gone out for his performances one evening (the night was memorable, the burger regrettable).
I remember once pulling up at Kings Waffle in the early morning when the first shift was on duty, a time I wouldn’t normally find myself there had it not been for overnight work at my retail job of the time. I ran into Jeff and we stood outside for awhile. It wasn’t a great day for either of us, but I do remember feeling comfort after talking with him. I don’t think we solved either of our various problems in that moment, but Jeff: it was good to have someone to talk to that day. And that’s how I felt when he called me out of the blue as I pulled out of that gas station years later, once again finding myself in the midst of some life turbulence. He had passed me in his FedEx truck that represented a career beyond Waffle House, just calling to see what was up and what I was doing out that way. It was another time where it just meant the world to hear from a friend.
I recently found myself at Kings Waffle one afternoon with Jeff because after all these years, I never did get to make a photograph of him. Although, I did photograph his sneakers one time: a pair of Chuck Taylor hi-tops custom painted with artwork from Pink Floyd, his favorite band. The shoes were a gift from his partner, Steph.
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| - Jeff's custom sneakers, January 2014. |
I’ve know Steph ever since I first started coming to Waffle House, another regular who had found her way there along with a few others featured here before. She’s always been kind and friendly and while quieter than most—when she does speak up, it’s with a line that will have everyone laughing or an observation so true, you’ll take notice. If her gift to Jeff proves anything—she’s incredibly thoughtful, a keen observer of those around her, someone who can describe people and their personalities with accuracy. She and Jeff met when she was a customer and he was an employee. Over the years, as their relationship blossomed, along came Quinn: one of the coolest kids known to the world, not just a Waffle House in the outer reaches of Cincinnati’s suburbs.
Quinn and Steph
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| - March 19, 2015. |
While it was always good to pull up to the restaurant and see Jeff and Steph there, after Quinn—you got most excited to see “the baby.” It was awesome watching her grow from infant to toddler to talking child whenever her parents would bring her by to see the regulars. As times changed and I saw them less, I guess I never realized just how much Quinn was growing.
When the four of us got to catch up recently outside of Kings Waffle (where the doors were still locked and rumors abounded that it would never reopen* in a post-pandemic world), Quinn was now four feet tall, giving orders, and telling me the proper ways to catch a frisbee (a favorite parking lot pastime of Kings Waffle devotees). While in the past, all of us could’ve and would’ve stayed at the place for hours, Quinn had other priorities. “Daddy, it’s time go,” she said to Jeff as she sauntered confidently towards the car, letting herself in. And yeah, it was. Everyone’s got different things going on now and while life changes, I can’t begin to truly describe just how happy it made me to see Jeff, Steph, and Quinn on that particular afternoon (even if Quinn did hit me in the head with said frisbee).
Jeff and Steph are now married, now mostly moved on from Kings Waffle like many of the rest of us, but still stopping in when they/we can. They’re currently expecting another child and they’re one of the coolest families I know.
I love you guys.
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| - May 31, 2020. |
*At the time I wrote this chapter, the restaurant had been closed since mid-March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It's my understanding that as of this publishing—the place has reopened.