In the American South, the Waffle House is always there for you when you need a breakfast fix. (If it's closed, you should probably get the hell out of town.)
Now, the famously always-open diner chain is adding electric vehicle fast-charging to its repertoire. And that's great news for road-trippers and waffle enthusiasts looking to break up with gasoline. The company announced today that BP Pulse will start adding 400 kilowatt fast-charging stations to its restaurants starting in 2026. The charging stations will feature both conventional CCS and North American Charging Standard (NACS) plugs, so they'll be able to serve Tesla's EVs and non-Tesla EVs that have adopted that standard.
“Adding an iconic landmark like Waffle House to our growing portfolio of EV charging sites is such an exciting opportunity," said Sujay Sharma, the CEO of BP Pulse, in a statement. " We’re building a robust network of ultrafast chargers across the country, and this is another example of third-party collaborations enabling access to charging co-located with convenient amenities for EV drivers.”
A BP Pulse spokesperson declined to say how many charging sites are planned, but added that an initial tranche of 50 sites is currently underway.
"Amenities" is a key part of that sentence. Automakers, charging companies and related entities in the EV space have increasingly realized that charging access is one of the biggest barriers to electric adoption—and part of the problem is isolated chargers in random locations and no food stops or restrooms in sight. It's why Walmart, Simon Malls, Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging, the Ionna network and many others are working on charging stations that make the experience a lot better. Those features include snack shops, indoor lounge areas, covered charging stalls and, yes, restrooms.
But here, any EV driver can pop in and get some waffles, or biscuits and gravy, or an omelette, or a patty melt—or some combination of those things—while their car snags some electrons. As far as charging experiences go, it sounds like an utter delight.
Perhaps no one agrees more than David Repp, the Director of Innovation at Waffle House (I'm thrilled to announce they have one of those): "Charging up while fueling up on an All-Star Special will be convenient and fast—a perfect option for enjoying the Waffle House experience while charging your EV on the go.”
Moreover, it's always going to be open, unless things really hit the fan. Waffle House is famous for being open 24/7, unless the area it's in has been hit with a severe disaster like a hurricane or a tornado—and even then, it may be operating. In fact, the federal government has an informal metric called the "Waffle House Index" to gauge how bad a disaster really was. As one former FEMA official once told NPR, “If the Waffle House is open, everything’s good.”
And soon, you can add EV charging to its repertoire as well.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
