Joe Rogers Sr., who co-founded Waffle House has died.

Rogers, who made his home in Atlanta, was born and raised in Jackson at 291 W. Deaderick St.

His autobiography, “Who’s Looking Out for the Poor Old Cash Customer?” was published in 2000 and is available at Amazon.com, discusses the same house where his mother was raised in Jackson.

He graduated from Jackson High School in 1938.

He and partner Tom Forkner opened the first Waffle House in Avondale Estates, Ga., on Labor Day in 1955.

But it was in Jackson where Rogers learned how to build relationships, please customers, work hard and be thrifty.

He eventually used that work ethic to help build Waffle House from one restaurant in 1955 into a restaurant empire of 1,745 stores in 25 states.

Rogers gained insight into his future while working at The Toddle House restaurant in Memphis, founded by the late Fred Smith Sr., who also founded the Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines.

Smith Sr. was the father of FedEx founder Fred Smith.

(PHOTO: Joe Rogers Sr. – co-founder of Waffle House – was born and raised in this home at 291 W. Deaderick St.)

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