Who Supplies Waffle House's Steak?

As you might expect, Waffle House has served a lot of waffles since opening its doors in 1955. Over 2.3 billion, to be exact. Waffle House sells even more eggs than waffles, but breakfast fans' appetite for steak at the restaurant shouldn't be underestimated. The breakfast chain serves more than 10,000 T-bone steaks daily, which adds up to millions per year. To keep the steaks coming on the grill, the chain works with one vendor.

For many years now, Waffle House has worked with Stampede Culinary Partners (formerly Stampede Meat) as its sole supplier of steak. The Illinois-based company was founded in 1995 and has since grown into a major protein supplier serving over 500 foodservice brands and more than 40,000 restaurants nationwide. The company has four main facilities in the Chicago area, but its network extends both regionally and internationally, with centers in New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, and Canada.

Waffle House uses USDA Choice beef for both its 10-ounce T-bone and its 5-ounce sirloin (some locations also serve a Delmonico, which is likewise Choice). The breakfast chain once had some beef with its own T-bone. In a 2011 Facebook post, Waffle House claimed to be the world's largest server of T-bone steak while it simultaneously announced it was taking the T-bone off the menu after 40 years. The retirement of the cut was later confirmed in a press release where the breakfast chain announced a year-long farewell and asked customers to share their best memories of the steak. After much ado and dismay among carnivore fans, the T-bone did eventually stay on the menu.

Other than the steak cuts, Stampede Culinary Partners also provides the thinly-sliced beef chuck used in Waffle House's viral waffle sandwich. The same beef also goes into the cheesesteak omelet and melt hashbrown bowl.