Waffle House meals three times a day, 365 days a year for Ringgold couple

Johnny Maxwell, left, talks with Rosamond Slocum, right, and Bill Elliott as he drinks coffee Wednesday at the Waffle House in Ringgold, Ga., something he does every afternoon. Maxwell and his wife are among three finalists in a nationwide contest to be named the No. 1 Fan of Waffle House, decided by online voting that ends Monday.

RINGGOLD, Ga. — For Johnny Maxwell it was love at first bite. The cheesy eggs. The bacon.

Thirty years ago Waffle House was new to Ringgold — and to Johnny and his wife “Maxie” Maxwell. But it became their home away from home, the center of their food universe.

“We was going about three times a day, before my wife got sick,” he said. “We ate breakfast, lunch and supper for a long time.”

Like deadheads trailing the Grateful Dead across the country, the Maxwells became something like waffleheads.