Thomas Francis Forkner was an American businessman, lawyer, and notable senior golfer. He was a co-founder of restaurant chain Waffle House, which as of April 2018 consisted of 2,100 restaurants.

Waffle House, Inc. is an American restaurant chain with over 1,900 locations in 25 states in the United States. The bulk of the locations are in the Midwest and especially the South, where the chain is a regional cultural icon. The menu consists mainly of Southern breakfast food. Waffle House is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area.