Crystal Smith grew up on Georgia’s favorite brunch dish, and by 2020 she’d decided it deserved a restaurant built entirely around it. She opened the first Johnny’s Chicken and Waffles in College Park, outside Atlanta, with then-husband Ne-Yo and Love & Hip Hop’s Karlie Redd backing the idea. Six years and a handful of states later, the plates are still enormous and the waffles are still stacked with more toppings than seems reasonable. Johnny’s now has two DFW locations: Dallas, open since May 2024, and Fort Worth, open since July 2025, and both are worth the drive on an empty stomach.
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