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A Waffle House restaurant under construction on North Woodland Boulevard in DeLand is getting closer to opening, although an exact date has not been set.
The eatery, part of a 64-year-old Waffle House Inc. chain of 24-hour restaurants, is making its debut in DeLand, but there are seven other Waffle Houses in Volusia County — at 414 Deltona Blvd. in Deltona, as well as three in Daytona Beach, two in Port Orange and one in Ormond Beach, according to the company’s website.
Company spokesman Pat Warner said the new restaurant will employ up to 30 people.
“It will be a typical Waffle House, with anywhere between 33 and 40 seats,” he said.
Warner said the DeLand restaurant’s opening could be anywhere from four to eight weeks out.
“There are still a lot to go into before opening up,” Warner said, citing things like installing equipment and scheduling inspections.
But as an opening date gets more certain, Warner said, the operators will probably hold events to find employees to staff the eatery.
“Operators typically have hiring events, either on-site or at nearby restaurants,” he said. “They want to train [new hires] so they’ll be ready when the restaurant opens.”
And employees of other Waffle Houses could be allowed to transfer to the new outlet if it’s closer to their homes or whatever, Warner added.
“It will probably be a mix of experienced and new employees,” he said.
The new restaurant, at 1120 N. Woodland Blvd., is less than a quarter-mile south of two other 24-hour, breakfast-dominant chain outlets — a Denny’s that opened in 2016 and an IHOP that opened in 1978.
In addition, a Perkins Restaurant & Bakery is about two blocks north of IHOP; although it’s open just 6 a.m. to midnight (1 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights), it does serve breakfast at any time.
You could almost call that stretch of Woodland Boulevard DeLand’s “breakfast district.”
Norcross, Georgia-based Waffle House has 1850 locations in 25 states, mostly in the southeastern U.S., according to www.wafflehouse.com. It has dozens of outlets in Florida, including the seven others in Volusia County.
According to the website, each restaurant is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and quality is consistent from location to location. All food is prepared fresh, cooked to order and served on real china in a kitchen that is out front and in full view.