These photographs ask viewers to look up from their hash browns and acknowledge the institutions and structures that create real, yet rarely acknowledged boundaries that feel impossible to break through for much of this country. Each photograph looks out from booths and chairs, making the viewer a witness to intertwined narratives of poverty, transience, and politics. In each instance, the point of view is the customer’s. The resulting photography project, “Waffle House Vistas,” collects images that document Southern communities as seen through the windows of Waffle Houses. I also wanted to ask questions about our society and our social, economic, and political divisions. I wanted to see the surrounding architecture, catalog adjacent businesses, and understand the public and commercial space around each restaurant. I did it because I wanted to see through each restaurant’s windows. Nor did I do it because of my affinity toward Waffle House. I didn't do it as a testament to Waffle House’s cultural importance in the South.

Now, let me address the other question: What compelled me to spend the better part of 2018 traveling throughout the southeastern United States with the sole purpose of visiting Waffle House restaurants? My preferred accompaniment to that crispy mass of potatoes is a two-egg breakfast, scrambled, with wheat toast, a side of bacon, crispy, and black coffee. Let me get the most important thing out of the way first: I like my hash browns scattered and covered.

Waffle house 6 dollar menu