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A drunk South Carolina man took his late-night munchies to his local Waffle House, only to be met with a quiet and empty restaurant.

Alex Bowen, age 36, was on his way home after a few drinks with friends during the wee hours of the morning on Nov. 30, stopping at his local Waffle House on his way home.

"It was around 3 a.m. I was pretty inebriated," admitted Bowen to ABC News.

Ten minutes had passed at the register, waiting without a single employee in sight. Bowen went outside to look for employees, but it appeared deserted until he noticed an employee asleep.

But by then, Bowen had already taken the lack of employees as his cue to fire up the kitchen's grill and take matters -- a Texas Bacon Cheesesteak Melt with extra pickles -- into his own hands.

 

After snapping a few excited selfies, Bowen got to work. He cooked up his cheesesteak melt, wrapped it in a take-out container, and even scraped down the grill when he was finished. The Waffle House customer noted the one employee did not wake up the entire time and that no one came inside the restaurant.

The father of three initially admitted he left the restaurant without paying for the sandwich but came back later the next day to pay his bill.

A Waffle House district manager reached out to Bowen after the story went viral and offered him a job as a secret shopper, posting to Facebook: "In a related note, obviously Alex has some cooking skills, and we'd like to talk to him about a job since we may have something fun for him."

Waffle House also responded to the viral post on Facebook warning any hungry customers to never go behind the counter for safety reasons. "Rather they should get a quality experience delivered by friendly associates," reads a statement from Waffle House. "We are reviewing this incident and will take appropriate disciplinary action."

The sleeping employee was suspended for a week.

Bowen later told The New York Post that as long as he was hungry enough, he'd do it again.

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A drunk South Carolina man took his late-night munchies to his local Waffle House, only to be met with a quiet and empty restaurant.

Alex Bowen, age 36, was on his way home after a few drinks with friends during the wee hours of the morning on Nov. 30, stopping at his local Waffle House on his way home.

"It was around 3 a.m. I was pretty inebriated," admitted Bowen to ABC News.

Ten minutes had passed at the register, waiting without a single employee in sight. Bowen went outside to look for employees, but it appeared deserted until he noticed an employee asleep.

But by then, Bowen had already taken the lack of employees as his cue to fire up the kitchen's grill and take matters -- a Texas Bacon Cheesesteak Melt with extra pickles -- into his own hands.

 

After snapping a few excited selfies, Bowen got to work. He cooked up his cheesesteak melt, wrapped it in a take-out container, and even scraped down the grill when he was finished. The Waffle House customer noted the one employee did not wake up the entire time and that no one came inside the restaurant.

The father of three initially admitted he left the restaurant without paying for the sandwich but came back later the next day to pay his bill.

A Waffle House district manager reached out to Bowen after the story went viral and offered him a job as a secret shopper, posting to Facebook: "In a related note, obviously Alex has some cooking skills, and we'd like to talk to him about a job since we may have something fun for him."

Waffle House also responded to the viral post on Facebook warning any hungry customers to never go behind the counter for safety reasons. "Rather they should get a quality experience delivered by friendly associates," reads a statement from Waffle House. "We are reviewing this incident and will take appropriate disciplinary action."

The sleeping employee was suspended for a week.

Bowen later told The New York Post that as long as he was hungry enough, he'd do it again.

Late-Night Customer Cooks Meal While Employee Sleeps (Photos)

A drunk South Carolina man took his late-night munchies to his local Waffle House, only to be met with a quiet and empty restaurant.

Alex Bowen, age 36, was on his way home after a few drinks with friends during the wee hours of the morning on Nov. 30, stopping at his local Waffle House on his way home.

"It was around 3 a.m. I was pretty inebriated," admitted Bowen to ABC News.

Ten minutes had passed at the register, waiting without a single employee in sight. Bowen went outside to look for employees, but it appeared deserted until he noticed an employee asleep.

But by then, Bowen had already taken the lack of employees as his cue to fire up the kitchen's grill and take matters -- a Texas Bacon Cheesesteak Melt with extra pickles -- into his own hands.

 

After snapping a few excited selfies, Bowen got to work. He cooked up his cheesesteak melt, wrapped it in a take-out container, and even scraped down the grill when he was finished. The Waffle House customer noted the one employee did not wake up the entire time and that no one came inside the restaurant.

The father of three initially admitted he left the restaurant without paying for the sandwich but came back later the next day to pay his bill.

A Waffle House district manager reached out to Bowen after the story went viral and offered him a job as a secret shopper, posting to Facebook: "In a related note, obviously Alex has some cooking skills, and we'd like to talk to him about a job since we may have something fun for him."

Waffle House also responded to the viral post on Facebook warning any hungry customers to never go behind the counter for safety reasons. "Rather they should get a quality experience delivered by friendly associates," reads a statement from Waffle House. "We are reviewing this incident and will take appropriate disciplinary action."

The sleeping employee was suspended for a week.

Bowen later told The New York Post that as long as he was hungry enough, he'd do it again.