Atlanta Waffle House Charges Extra 20% For Security

Here's a pretty good one in the wild world of restaurant surcharges: An Atlanta Waffle House outpost is charging its customers an extra 20 percent — on everything — to help pay for a security guard. The restaurant tells Fox Atlanta that it instituted the surcharge as a result of crime in its Five Points neighborhood. Even though there's a police precinct down the street, Waffle House hired the off-duty police officer to work from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily after the nearby clubs started bringing in a lot of drunken, fighting people.

Waffle House officially calls the fee a "property management surcharge" and signs are posted throughout the restaurant to warn customers. Reaction is pretty mixed, but one waitress points out that this surcharge has resulted in lower tips. The chain says that other locations have security guards, too, but this is the only one with a surcharge. Here's the local news report:

Video: Waffle House Surcharge

· Waffle House in downtown Atlanta charges extra for security [Fox Atlanta via Eater Atlanta]
· All Waffle House Coverage on Eater [-E-]