There’s a true story about a time when Bert Thornton visited a Waffle House in Gulfport, Mississippi, and noticed a lackadaisical mood among the employees. Known for their efficiency and hospitality, the employees' unusual behavior was noticed not only by Bert but by all the customers as well. In the middle of serving lunch to a packed house, Bert, a former Georgia Tech football player, called a timeout.

In front of all the patrons, who were getting mediocre service, Bert gathered the employees and gave them a pep talk. He pointed out that these very employees were also stockholders in the privately held restaurant chain. Two of the servers actually owned over $100,000 in Waffle House stock.

His message: “If today is an example of how you value your own stock, that value just went down.” Huddled together around their coach, Bert, they came together with a team cheer and received a resounding round of applause from the diners. That’s leadership, and those lessons and many more Bert is happy to share whenever he can.

Bert Thornton was born in New Orleans and raised in Tampa, Florida, where he was an outstanding football player. A highly sought-after offensive guard, he wanted to play for the heralded Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech. He was a fraternity brother and close friend of Joe Rogers, Jr., whose father had co-founded Waffle House, the national restaurant chain headquartered in Atlanta.

Bert earned his degree in Industrial Management, which would now be akin to a science-oriented business management degree. After serving in the military, including a stint in Viet Nam, Bert’s first career job was with National Cash Register (NCR). Not long after, his fraternity brother, Joe Jr., recruited him to work for the budding restaurant chain.

If you’ve ever eaten at a Waffle House, you may have heard of Bert. He’s famous for creating Bert’s Chili, which today sells over 12 million bowls a year.

While we were having lunch at Waffle House on Gregory Street in Pensacola, he told me how Bert’s Chili came to be. In the late 70s, very early 80s, Waffle House scooped chili out of a can. At the time, Bert lived and worked out of Dallas, Texas, overseeing Waffle House operations and expansion in the West and Midwest. His friend and now colleague, Joe Rogers, Jr., called and suggested that, since he lived in a state known for its chili, he should develop a recipe that could be consistently prepared and served at all Waffle House restaurants.

Bert rolled up his sleeves and went to work. He tested four different recipes in the four corners of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “I wanted to find out which one our customers liked best, and figure out how to replicate it throughout all our stores.” Of the four test stores, the Lewisville store, located north of Dallas, made the tastiest chili.

This initial recipe required a pre-prepared frozen base shipped to stores in large, square, milk carton-like containers. The chili became so popular that, in some cases, it created a storage problem, denying freezer space for other products. Bert realized they needed to duplicate the recipe by freeze-drying it and distributing it in smaller, easier-to-store packets. But there was a problem.

As the last portion of each pot of chili was served, a lingering “freeze-dried” flavor seemed off. Bert’s wife came to the rescue. “Just add raw onion, and that will absorb that unwanted flavor.” She was right. Bert kept testing and adding raw onions. Now, each batch of Bert’s Famous Chili includes three chopped raw onions. Once it was perfected, sales of Bert’s Chili increased 22%.

“It was an overnight home run,” he says. Unbeknownst to him, it appeared on the Waffle House menu as Bert’s Chili. Joe Rogers, Jr. insisted, “Bert has to bless it before we can send it out, so his name is on it.” Now you know!

A few more fun facts about Waffle House: If you lined all the bacon they serve in a year end-to-end, it would stretch from Atlanta around the world and back to Atlanta, and then to New York City and back. They serve enough coffee to fill seven and a half Olympic-size swimming pools, and more T-bone steaks than anyone in the world.

As we were having lunch, several people stopped by to say hello and give Bert a hug. One longtime local TV personality sat next to us, and we told Waffle House stories. Bert tells me his friend Howard eats there every day... every day! As Howard got up to leave, he said, “There's Santa Claus, the Pope, and then Bert.” That’s the affection Bert has earned over the years from friends and employees.

Now retired and living in Perdido Key, a stone's throw from the famous Flora-Bama, he tells me the Waffle House there will soon be completely rebuilt. As the former president, chief operations officer (COO), and current vice chairman emeritus of Waffle House, Inc., Bert stays busy and is involved in many civic endeavors.

After lunch, he takes me to the Studer Community Institute to introduce me to the people who run several leadership and mentoring programs serving Pensacola's business community. One upcoming program is EntreCon, an annual business and leadership conference. This year’s event will take place on November 12 and 13 at the Pensacola Saenger Theater. It is open to the public.

This year’s theme is called Invest 2026 and is dedicated to leadership, motivation, and investing in what matters most: people, business, and community. Invest 2026 challenges all attendees to go all in on growth, collaboration, and the future of our community. Among several outstanding speakers, Bert will serve as the closing Keynote speaker.

As we arrive at the Studer Community Institute, Bert hands me two books he has written on business leadership and life. The first one is titled Find An Old Gorilla: Pathways Through the Jungle of Business and Life. The second one is titled The Missing Degree: Leadership and Business Management Skills They Failed to Cover in Your Technical/Professional Training. Bert lives these principles and takes every opportunity to emulate these life-learned practices.

For Bert, nothing goes unnoticed. In the most endearing way possible, he stops as we leave lunch at Waffle House and asks the server to have someone blow the leaves from the sidewalk and parking lot. It’s the little things that matter. Leadership means managing the symbols. People are paying attention.

I first learned Bert lived in the area from an acquaintance while we were having breakfast at a Waffle House in Foley. I got excited about the chance to meet him and hear his story. I soon learned he plays a prominent advisory and mentoring role at the University of West Florida’s Lewis Bear, Jr. College of Business as an Entrepreneur in Residence.

As we lunched, he shared some more tidbits about leadership. “If you have ever been to a Waffle House on a Saturday morning, you know they have a big crowd, and there is a person at the door greeting people and directing traffic. Chairs are lined up so people can wait for a seat at an open table or counter in the order they arrived.”

Bert tells me, “Once in Bentonville, Arkansas, President and CEO of Walmart, David Glass was having breakfast with ‘Mr. Sam,’ founder of Walmart. Mr. Sam loved Waffle House and noticed the person directing traffic. Mr. Sam told David, ‘We need to have people greeting folks as they walk into WalMart. If it’s good enough for Waffle House, it’s good enough for WalMart!’”

On another occasion, Joe Rogers, Jr. was having lunch with Robert Goizueta, former Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, in his private dining room at the Coca-Cola world headquarters in Atlanta. When the server asked what he would like to drink, Mr. Rogers asked for a Cherry Coke. “I’m sorry, sir, we don’t have a drink like that.” Rogers replied, “We do at Waffle House.” Soon after, Coca-Cola introduced Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke, both of which have been staples at Waffle House for years.

This story is not a promotion for Waffle House, although it could be. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy dining there. This past Christmas morning, we were somewhat empty nesters, with only my son from New Orleans staying at our house in Fairhope. We decided to load up and have breakfast at Waffle House. The place was hopping!

Every employee was dressed up for the holiday and couldn’t be happier. We saw several other friends with family there. It was like a big holiday party, and we thought, “This should be our new Christmas morning tradition.” Bert tells me it is the biggest day of the year for Waffle House by a factor of five.

“One time a customer stopped and scolded me for making employees work on Christmas,” says Bert. “Tell you what, why don’t we ask each one of them if they would like to be somewhere other than right here.” There were no takers. I remember, as a student in Tuscaloosa, staying on campus during Thanksgiving in 1974 so I could attend the Auburn-Alabama game held on a Friday in Birmingham the next day. Not thinking this situation through, I found myself with nowhere to eat… until I passed a Waffle House. I will always be grateful.

My friend, the late Billy Ezell from Mobile, with his partner, Nat Harris, ended up developing 140 Waffle House stores in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The stories Billy could tell about the goings-on at Waffle House would regale you for hours and have you in stitches. Bert was present when he and Joe Rogers awarded them the franchise rights.

“I was in Dallas, and Joe came in from Atlanta and told me he had two young men coming to meet us about getting a franchise.” According to Billy, they were told that Waffle House had never awarded a franchise to two people with as little business experience and capital. “But you look like enterprising young men,” Joe told them. “We have an opportunity in Memphis or Nashville. Why don’t you take some time and do your market research before deciding.”

Billy responded immediately, “We will take Nashville. When I was at the University of Alabama, the good-looking girls would come to Tuscaloosa from Memphis by the carload, but they came by the busload from Nashville.” The rest is history.

Bert isn't one to talk about himself. Instead, he enjoys sharing the lessons he’s learned about how to treat people, pay attention to details, and roll up your sleeves and get to work. “I never spent much time in my office,” he tells me. “I was in the stores with the people who were serving our customers. That’s how you build a successful brand.”

I appreciate people like Bert. He’s an innovator, an entrepreneur, a leader, and a hard worker, as shown by his football success and his role in helping build Waffle House into a beloved restaurant organization. Older and wiser, he now invests his time in staying active and helping others achieve their dreams. He believes in community, entrepreneurship, and giving back.

He serves on the College of Business advisory board at UWF, as well as the Georgia Tech Foundation board of trustees. “I never liked sales, but I do like asking people for money. It’s about building relationships and creating a sense of purpose. If you go to visit a potential donor, ask for advice. They will likely make a gift. If you go in asking for money, you will likely get advice.”

Wisdom and experience are a wonderful thing. Thank goodness for people like Bert!

P.S.: The Chicken Sandwich at Waffle House, with scattered hash browns, onions, and peppers, was excellent!