"Waffles are ready, come and get them!" said Geoff the father of the Griffey family who started the tradition of making Saturday morning breakfast shortly after their oldest son, Gunther, was born. Gunther loved breakfast, the thing he loved most was waffles. Many of his baby photos are of Gunther sitting in a high chair with sticky hands and a huge smile.

One Saturday morning, Gunther's friend Marty was sitting with them for breakfast since he had spent the night. When he tasted the waffles for the first time, he couldn't believe how delicious they were, better than anything he had ever tasted. He asked Mr. Griffey why they tasted so good. Geoff was quick to jump in and tell Marty that it was a secret family recipe and it was a gift from the desert.

Marty's mom, Mary came to pick him up and asked if he had a good time. Marty said that he did and that Mr. Griffey made them the most amazing waffles for breakfast. Geoff asked Mary if she'd like to sample the waffles and when she did, she too was also impressed. "You should open a restaurant, Geoff. These are amazing and I know people would come for miles to pay for these waffles." Geoff said that he was flattered, but it was just something he liked to do for his family.

Mary, a real estate agent, was insistent, "Geoff, I know exactly the place for you. It's a little weekend coffee shop that's for sale. The owners are retiring and are looking for someone to take it over. It's a cute piece of land on the edge of the Sonoran desert." Geoff was definitely interested since it was already there and he would only have to do weekends. "Well, that's something to consider. Let me talk it over with the family." Geoff said.

Geoff and his wife Georgia talked about it for a while. They considered how great it would be to share the waffles with more people and how the extra money they could earn would be helpful. Georgia said that she and the kids would also help. She could help run the restaurant while he did the cooking. Their kids could take the orders and clear the tables. They decided to give it a try. "Let's give Mary a call" said Geoff.

Geoff, Georgia, and Mary visited the restaurant site and quickly decided it would be perfect. There was plenty of room to make waffles and it was close by to where he harvests his secret ingredient, agave nectar, from the stalks of the many agave plants in the Sonoran Desert. He knew that would be important because without the nectar, the waffles weren't as special. "What do you think?" asked Mary. Geoff replied, "We'll do it!"

The Griffey family spent the next few weeks turning the coffee shop into Griffey's Gourmet Waffles. They started telling friends to come and try them and posted a countdown to the grand opening on their Instagram page. When the big day came to open the restaurant, Geoff was shocked to see how many people were lined up to try his waffles. He had other breakfast foods on the menu too, but the waffles were the most popular. Geoff was so happy that he was able to share his Sunday morning treat with so many people. His family really like working with him and they knew that they made a great decision.

After a few weeks, Geoff went to his favorite spot for the agave plants but was surprised to see how much he had already taken and there wasn't very much left in this area. He also noticed that the hummingbirds that were usually in this are weren't around. He also saw that the ground around the base of the plant was damp. He realized that the new grass that he planted around the restaurant needed to be watered several times a day to stay green, it was also causing the nearby areas to get more water than it was used to getting. Geoff had to go deeper and deeper into the desert to find the agave stalks that he needed.

Agave plant

After a few months had passed and it was almost summer, Mary asked Geoff and Georgia if they would consider expanding since their business had been so good. They all agreed that it was a good idea. Mary suggested they add more tables to the restaurant, expand the parking lot and put up some large shade tarps over the area to keep their guests cooler while they waited. "Great ideas, Mary", said Geoff and they quickly started to plan for these changes.