The Surprising Food Waffle House Serves More Than Any Other Restaurant In The World

Neighbors Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner opened the first Waffle House in Avondale Estates, Georgia back in 1955, according to the company's website. Both men were looking for a more people-focused establishment that would welcome neighbors and friends with 24-hour service, appealing to those looking for everything from an early breakfast to a midnight snack. They settled on the Waffle House concept, and the restaurant quickly became a success.

As of 2016, there were more than 2,000 "WaHo" locations around the United States, per Country Living. The brand's traditional breakfast options include classic waffles, as well as omelets, biscuits, and various breakfast sandwiches, among other things. However, Waffle House has a fairly large lunch and dinner menu, too, featuring things like burgers and full-fledged entrées.

When you think of Waffle House, you likely think of one item: waffles. But it turns out that, in addition to its eponymous signature dish, there is one menu item this chain restaurant sells more of than anywhere else in the world.

It might come as a surprise, but Waffle House's steaks are a major star of the menu. In fact, according to Mental Floss and the company's own website, Waffle House sells more T-bone steaks than anywhere else in the world. Every minute, four steaks are served to hungry patrons. This adds up to roughly 240 steaks per hour, or 5,760 steaks per day. Multiply that by 365, and Waffle House is churning out more than 2.1 million steaks annually.

Though the chain sells more T-bones than anywhere else, the steak numbers don't compare to the waffle or bacon numbers. Mental Floss reports that Waffle House serves 145 of their namesake waffles every minute, which translates to a whopping 76 million waffles annually. And when it comes to bacon, the numbers are even higher — 340 strips per minute. This adds up to a staggering 178 million rashers per year. Talk about bringing home the bacon.