Waffle House coming to Oxford as soon as fall
Waffle House has broken ground for its Oxford restaurant on College Corner Pike.
Oxford residents could be enjoying breakfast 24 hours a day in a few months. A year after Oxford City Council approved plans for a Waffle House, the company has officially broken ground at 5000 College Corner Pike.
Construction for the restaurant started the first week of July. Seth Cropenbaker, economic development specialist for the City of Oxford, said he wouldn't be surprised if they were done by the time students got back in town.
"I mean, if you think about a Waffle House, I would imagine every Waffle House pretty much looks exactly the same," Cropenbaker said. "... That's good from a guest experience standpoint, but it also helps you streamline from an operational standpoint."
Waffle House did not respond to a request for comment.
Cropenbaker said the large delay isn't so much due to the permit process, but timing. He added that Waffle House most likely understands the cycle of economic activity in Oxford and will try to align with that.
According to City Council minutes, community members came forward during the hearing process to express their discontent for the business. They raised complaints concerning privacy, the cemetery next door and the overall affect on the surrounding community.
"We are very concerned about noise and light pollution, litter, pedestrian and automotive traffic, as well as the potential for behavior requiring police intervention at this location," Kate Currie, Brian Currie, Keena Lykins and Virgie Sharp wrote in a letter to city council February 2023.
"We have significant concerns about what the addition of a 24 hour restaurant into the mix of this already turbulent area might hold for the residences nearby," they added.
Cropenbaker said during construction Waffle House will follow the guidelines set in Oxford's development code.
"Through zoning, you create the plan or the layout for community," Cropenbaker said. "Certainly that changes over time, as development happens, opportunity happens, changes occur, but you know that those decisions are made consciously, with the the overall well being of the community in mind."
