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Waffle Shop to Keep Quirky Awnings

Ownership of the 24-hour restaurant in Arlandria will not replace awnings and instead look into rehabilitating its neon signage.

The Waffle Shop in Arlandria will keep its quirky and iconic misspelled awnings, members of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership told Patch on Monday afternoon.

Last week, members of AEDP announced that ownership of the 24-hour restaurant at the corner of Mt. Vernon Avenue and Russell Road had decided to use money secured through AEDP’s Facade Improvement Grant Program

Ownership had a change of heart after learning of the support and appreciation for the awnings from customers and neighbors. One man even asked to purchase one of the awnings after learning of ownership’s decision to replace them.

The grant money could instead be used to rehabilitate the restaurant’s properly spelled neon signage.

“The owners appreciate the support,” said Sara Pierce of AEDP. “I think businesses don’t always listen to the public when making decisions. This is a special case.”

The awnings, which sit above the restaurant’s ground-floor windows on Mt. Vernon Avenue and Russell Road, were repainted just a few years ago.

Are you happy the Waffle Shop is keeping its mispelled awnings? Share your thoughts in the comments section and take our poll.

Samantha S June 25, 2012 at 06:09 pm
well how about that - not the end of an error after all!
Bill Cook June 25, 2012 at 07:06 pm
Great! I'm far more happy to see the neon getting restored and operational.
heydelray June 25, 2012 at 07:50 pm
Wonderful. No sense being ordinary.
Pete June 25, 2012 at 08:10 pm
And great neon signs to rehab!
Leslie Hagan June 25, 2012 at 09:18 pm
At least one important hallmark of Del Ray has been saved from "economic development" and the money will be going to a truly needed renovation. Congratulations to the Wafle Shop and a grateful thanks for saving a special touchstone of the community.
Brian Boyle June 26, 2012 at 12:55 am
Arlandria is not part of Del Ray.
Brian Boyle June 26, 2012 at 01:09 am
Don't get me wrong. I have lived around this area since 1980. The Waffle shop is a landmark of Arlandria. Saying it's part of Del Ray takes away from what it is. I personally don't think giving money to an owner who mispelled new awnings is the best use of money, but getting the neon signs working again is. I wish the old concrete shopping center with Arlandria proudly displayed had survived.
Vicki June 26, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Brian,
The current misspelled awning was misspelled intentionally because the Wafle Shop is a longtime neighborhood landmark. It has been misspelled through several awning changes for many years. If you have been in this neighborhood for 20 years you should be aware of that
Wayne Hulehan June 26, 2012 at 01:06 pm
Glad to see it is staying - even tho they waffled (or wafled) on the decision.
Jim Miller June 26, 2012 at 03:33 pm
Vicki, actually, it wasn't intentionally misspelled. It was a language error in how the order was placed. From what I heard, through good sources, was that the guy who owned it at the time, which could be the current owners, mistakenly wrote down 'Wafle' instead of 'Waffle', which is what he originally intended to do. So it wasn't done on purpose, but merely a chance mistake that happened on the fly when the order was placed for the awnings.
Vicki June 26, 2012 at 04:33 pm
Jim, That was my point. The original awning was unintentionally misspelled and since then the new awnings have kept the misspelling because it is fun, quirky and everyone knows the place as the Wafle Shop. Believe me, the current (misspelled) awning is not the original awning.
Jim Miller June 26, 2012 at 05:52 pm
Vicki, true, you're right, that's not the orginal misspelled awning. I'm very happy to see the neon sign get refurbished, though. Hey, maybe they can 'unintentionally' have one of the 'f's flicker, too! ;-)
Bill Cook June 26, 2012 at 07:01 pm
Jim Miller,
One flashing F. That is brilliant.
chad June 28, 2012 at 02:10 pm
There is nothing wrong with standing out! I'm sure there are many people who are not even aware that it is misspelled? It's been like that for years..no need to change in my opinion. http://www.myuniversalawnings.com
Rodries Sumner April 9, 2013 at 07:32 pm
They SHOULD keep those awnings, they are awesome! Do you know if I could purchase awnings like that anymore?
http://www.decorauvent.ca
Brian Boyle April 11, 2013 at 06:48 pm
Great. Maybe when the neon signs are repaired we can all meet up for egs over esy and a side of tost.

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Drew Hansen (Editor) April 13, 2013 at 01:13 pm
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