Waffle House customer cooks own food after finding staff asleep Alex Bowen fancied some late night waffles but had to take matters into his own hands when he arrived at his local diner.

Image: Alex Bowen cooked his own meal when he couldn't find anyone to serve him

A hungry ex-soldier whipped up his own midnight snack when he arrived at his local diner to find all the staff asleep.

Alex Bowen, from Pelion, South Carolina, found himself peckish in the early hours of Thursday morning after some drinks with friends and so decided to go to Waffle House for some food.

He found it open, but all the staff were fast asleep.

Image: The staff member Alex Bowen caught asleep

Instead of nudging them from their slumber, he got behind the counter and cooked up his own snack, taking a series of selfies while he did so.

The 34-year-old shared the images on Facebook, where they went viral with more than 1,000 shares.


Image: Tired of waiting for service, he cooked his own food

Mr Bowen, who installs flooring for a living, told friends he made a double Texas bacon cheesesteak melt before leaving without anyone waking up.

He admitted he did not pay for his food straight away, but did come back and leave the cash later on.

Image: Alex used the grill to rustle up a Texas bacon cheesesteak

He told ABC: "It was around 3am. I was pretty inebriated.

"[The employee] didn't wake up the entire time. And no one came inside the restaurant."

He cleaned up after himself when he made his food and left with it.

He told Fox Carolina: "I give all the credit to my old friend vodka. I wouldn't normally have done that."

According to Mr Bowen, he was offered a role as a secret shopper by a Waffle House manager after the incident.

Image: He even cleaned up after himself

A spokesman for Waffle House told Sky News: "Our local division manager has spoken to Alex and has apologised.

"For safety reasons our customers should never have to go behind the counter, rather, they should get a quality experience delivered by friendly associates.

Image: Later that day, he returned to pay the bill

"We are reviewing this incident and will take appropriate disciplinary action.

"In a related note, obviously Alex has some cooking skills and we would like to talk to him about a job, since we may have something for him."