Waffle House customer made his own meal while sole employee slept

After a night of drinking, it’s almost vital to consume carbohydrates. So when intoxicated Alex Bowen walked into a Waffle House West Columbia, South Carolina around 3 a.m., he wasn’t taking no for an answer. ABC News reports that when Bowen walked into the restaurant, the place looked more like a ghost town. Nobody was in sight to take his order. To no avail, Bowen stood at the register for 10 minutes in hope that an employee would aid his craving.

“That’s when I got on the grill with a Texas bacon cheesesteak melt,” Bowen told ABC News. He cooked his meal and even cleaned up the station when he was done. In the process, he spotted a sleeping employee.

“[The employee] didn’t wake up the entire time. And no one came inside the restaurant,” Bowen continued. So he left without paying, but came back to settle up later that day.

A Waffle House district manager has reached out to Bowen in hope he’d become a Waffle House secret shopper. He also thanked the 37-year-old for pinpointing the employee’s poor behavior. Bowen tells ABC News that next time he enters the establishment, he hopes someone will be there to wait on him, “but if not, I’d know what to do.”

For more on the diner chain - famous for staying open 24/7 even during many natural disasters - here are 10 things you didn’t know about Waffle House.