In the south, the local Waffle House is an indicator of how bad the weather is. When the Navarre Waffle House was closed on Friday for Hurricane Isaias, people knew it was serious.
The restaurant was reopened Sunday for to-go orders from a limited menu — that’s a “code yellow” in the Waffle House Index.
It was a welcome sight for locals.
Madi and James Donelan came from Gulf Breeze to get some waffles. Madi rode out the storm at Baptist Hospital as a labor and delivery nurse while James, was home with the animals.
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This was the couple’s first hurricane. Coming from Oklahoma, they’re more used tornados. Hurricane Isaias was worse, they said.
“My best explanation is that it sounded like there was like 100 people outside of my house all banging on the house for like probably an hour and a half, said James, who serves in the military.
Thankfully, there was no major damage to their house. But being out of power, made them crave warm food.
“Definitely a waffle,” is what Madi is ordering.
Madi said they weren’t very prepared for this storm as first timers. They have a better idea now.
“Get flashlights, cases of water, and nonperishable food,” she said.
“We did not buy nonperishable food, so it all went bad,” added James.
Sue and John Scott evacuated from Navarre Beach to Columbus, Ohio.
They returned home to assess damage, which they said was minimal.
“Yeah, we got really blessed,” said Sue. “The beach is gorgeous, actually. It doesn't look bad at all. It's the sound side got... There's extensive damage.”
What John needed was a cup of coffee. Which brought them to Waffle House. Coffee is an essential, said John.
Times like this make you appreciate the small things, like air conditioning, said Sue.
“And it's nice to see a community coming together and helping each other out,” she added.
