AWESOME: Waffle House and Bojangles' in Shallotte, NC battled to see who could stay open the longest ahead of #Florence

Greg P. | 2:15 PM on September 13, 2018

Yesterday we told you about how Waffle House, known for its awesome food and the ability to weather natural disasters, had activated its emergency operations center in preparation for Hurricane Florence. FEMA even uses Waffle House as a barometer of sorts and if a Waffle House is still closed after a big storm, that means the entire area is in bad shape.

With that in mind, this Waffle House in Shallotte, NC closing yesterday was a sign at just how bad things were expected to get in the coming days:

The wind is growing stronger. But more significant is that the @WaffleHouse in Shallotte, NC is now closed. The chain is famous for its storm-hardiness, and its closure is perhaps the greatest metric that the storm is nigh. pic.twitter.com/J4ln2V72i3

— Matt Bradley (@MattMcBradley) September 13, 2018

But not so fast! According to MSNBC’s Matt Bradley, this Waffle House was forced to close by authorities. And when they discovered that the Bojangles’ across the street had somehow avoided orders from authorities, they opened back up:

UPDATE: @WaffleHouse did not close willingly. They were told to shut by Shallotte, NC police. But when the Bojangles (@Bojangles1977) across the road stayed open, it became an old-fashioned Southern fast-food stand-off that @WaffleHouse wasn’t about to lose. They’ve now reopened!

— Matt Bradley (@MattMcBradley) September 13, 2018

And now the two restaurants are in a battle to see who can stay open the longest:

The @WaffleHouse staff told me “we’re here for the community.” No, they will not go quiet into that good night. They will not cede ground to @Bojangles1977. #Heroes #HurricaneFlorence

— Matt Bradley (@MattMcBradley) September 13, 2018