The hectic situation at Gleaton’s store has calmed down, but Helene’s aftermath continued to impact his community and his customers. For days, locals whose homes (and kitchens) were damaged by the storm still come to his Waffle House for meals, to charge their phones, to fill up on water, to grab to-go cups of milk for their kids, or just to sit somewhere brightly lit and friendly for a couple of hours.

Gleaton was happy he could provide that for them, but admits it is frustrating for workers like him to see the lack of respect and acknowledgement that he and other service workers receive from their employers and the public writ large, even after stepping up during a literal disaster.

“We were really providing so much for the community, and people do not think about that,” he tells me. ​“They belittle it, they downplay it, as if it’s not a lifesaver, and it literally was.”

The USSW has continued to push for more, calling for a $25 hourly wage for its members. ​“25 is a number,” Gleaton explains. ​“What we’re actually fighting for is a livable wage, because the cost of living just keeps skyrocketing. The whole inflation thing, it’s not getting no better for us, and they’re making it even harder, taking our credit card tips and then taxing them.”

USSW members like Gleaton are also pressing Waffle House to end its meal deduction policy (in which workers can only order off a limited menu and are charged whether or not they partake), and, even more importantly, to provide 24/7 security at its restaurants (workers say security is currently inconsistent). It’s no secret that the 24-hour diner can get a little rowdy, especially on weekend nights, when customers often show up drunk… ​“I’ve probably cleaned blood off of every surface of a Waffle House,” Halie Booth, a Texas Waffle House worker whose gifted reflexes turned her into a meme queen, told the Independent (UK) in 2023.