Is Waffle House open on holidays?
Updated August 24, 2026 · this page carries the 2026 and 2027 dates.
Waffle House
Today
Open or closed? Check below.
A location can close in a genuine emergency — a storm, an evacuation — but never for a holiday. Hours vary by location. The days marked closed here are company-wide; everything else is your local store or restaurant’s call, so check before you go.
Waffle House is the exception that makes this page short: it does not close for holidays. Not Thanksgiving, not Christmas, not New Year's morning at 3am. Running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is company policy, and it holds so reliably that FEMA famously watches which Waffle Houses are dark to judge how bad a disaster is.
The only closures are the real emergencies — hurricanes, evacuations, a kitchen fire. If it's just a holiday, the waffles are on.
| Day | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1, 2026 January 1, 2027 | Open Open — 24 hours, including the overnight shift that rings in the new year. |
| Easter Sunday | April 5, 2026 March 28, 2027 | Open Open — Easter Sunday is a regular 24-hour day. |
| Memorial Day | May 25, 2026 May 31, 2027 | Open Open — 24 hours on Memorial Day, the same as every other day. |
| Independence Day | July 4, 2026 July 4, 2027 | Open Open — 24 hours on July 4, the same as every other day. |
| Labor Day | September 7, 2026 September 6, 2027 | Open Open — 24 hours on Labor Day, the same as every other day. |
| Thanksgiving | November 26, 2026 November 25, 2027 | Open Open — Waffle House serves right through Thanksgiving Day, around the clock. |
| Christmas Eve | December 24, 2026 December 24, 2027 | Open Open — 24 hours through Christmas Eve and into Christmas morning. |
| Christmas Day | December 25, 2026 December 25, 2027 | Open Open — every Waffle House serves on Christmas Day, all 24 hours of it. |
| New Year's Eve | December 31, 2026 December 31, 2027 | Open Open — all night, into New Year's Day. |
Is Waffle House open on New Year's Day?
Open — 24 hours, including the overnight shift that rings in the new year.
Is Waffle House open on Easter Sunday?
Open — Easter Sunday is a regular 24-hour day.
Is Waffle House open on Memorial Day?
Open — 24 hours on Memorial Day, the same as every other day.
Is Waffle House open on Independence Day?
Open — 24 hours on July 4, the same as every other day.
Is Waffle House open on Labor Day?
Open — 24 hours on Labor Day, the same as every other day.
Is Waffle House open on Thanksgiving?
Open — Waffle House serves right through Thanksgiving Day, around the clock.
It's one of the few chains where a full Thanksgiving-night meal is a certainty rather than a phone call. Expect it to be busier than a normal Thursday.
Is Waffle House open on Christmas Eve?
Open — 24 hours through Christmas Eve and into Christmas morning.
Is Waffle House open on Christmas Day?
Open — every Waffle House serves on Christmas Day, all 24 hours of it.
Staying open on Christmas is a point of company identity, not a franchise choice. If the lights are off on December 25, something is genuinely wrong in that town.
Is Waffle House open on New Year's Eve?
Open — all night, into New Year's Day.
More restaurants
- Texas Roadhouse
- Cracker Barrel
- McDonald's
- Starbucks
- Chick-fil-A
- Denny's
- IHOP
- Olive Garden
- Applebee's
The full chain-by-chain picture is on the restaurants holiday hours page — and the store holiday hours page covers the other half of the errand.
Checked against the Waffle House's own site, verified August 2026. When a schedule for a new year has not been published yet, this page says so — it never guesses. A location can close in a genuine emergency — a storm, an evacuation — but never for a holiday.