This chain restaurant was most requested for Fresno in our poll. Will it come to town?
We asked readers in a recent poll which of the top restaurant chains they’d like to see come to the Fresno area. The winner was clear: Waffle House.
It may be a bit of a surprise to some, since Cracker Barrel was leading early on in our informal poll. And if you caught our last story, you know Cracker Barrel is a favorite of Fresnans that came oh-so-close to opening here a few years back.
But Waffle House nabbed 90% of the vote.
The poll focused on the top restaurant chains by sales (a common measure of success in the restaurant world) that aren’t here.
Cracker Barrel came in second with 4% of the vote. All grabbing about 1% of the vote were: Golden Corral, Dunkin, Dairy Queen, Longhorn Steakhouse, Whataburger and Culver’s.
Will Waffle House ever open in Fresno?
Waffle House is known for its hearty and inexpensive breakfasts, being open 24 hours and those big yellow square signs.
The chain has more than 1,900 locations, many of them in the Deep South and Midwest. The closest location to Fresno is in the Phoenix, Arizona area. None are in California.
We reached out to Waffle House and asked if they’d ever consider opening in Fresno.
After saying they’re “flattered” Fresnans love the restaurant, they had this to say about opening a location here:
“As for potential expansion westward, we currently do not have plans to expand west of our restaurants in Arizona. However, our Real Estate Scouts always are on the look out for great opportunities, so we won’t say never.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
