No more Awful, but the waffle lives on

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The Awful Waffle at its location in The Village at South Campus. The Awful Waffle closed May 31. (Miranda Facer)

The Awful Waffle, as students traditionally know it, shut its doors on May 31.

“The Waffle is not leaving, it’s growing,” said Mora Sweeny, a junior who works as a manager at the Waffle. “Someone is taking what we’ve done and hopefully turning it into a more successful restaurant.”

Cafe Galleria, an Italian restaurant with locations in Midway and Murray, purchased the Awful Waffle and plans to incorporate waffles into its existing menu of pizza, pasta and bagels. The new Cafe Galleria location will open June 1, though the full menu will not be available until the end of June, Sweeny said.

“I think the biggest change is not the food, it’s the atmosphere with (Cafe Galleria) being a sit-down place,” said Erin Egbert, a BYU graduate who works at the head manager at the Waffle. “I think it’s going to become a more formal restaurant.”

Current Awful Waffle employees were encouraged to fill out applications to work at Cafe Galleria when the news of the change of ownership was announced, Sweeny said.

“Cafe Galleria wants as many familiar faces here as they can (get) so customers still know the employees,” Egbert said.

The news of the Awful Waffle’s change in ownership came as a surprise for some patrons who love the waffles, crepes, frites and pizzas the hang-out spot is known for.

“I’m surprised it’s closing because it’s a popular place with good atmosphere, good food and it wasn’t too expensive,” said Steffany Beddes, a senior studying advertising.

While the Awful Waffle restaurant is closing, staff and customers alike hope the waffle lives on.

“We’ve loved our time with everybody and the community,” Egbert said. “We’re not really going away; we’ll still have the waffles and friendly faces.”

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