By Maria Saporta

Waffles and rings.

On Monday, March 25, Waffle House will open its newest location directly across from the Fountain of Rings at Centennial Olympic Park.

“This is a great location for us because of the millions of people who are down there each year who will be exposed to our brand,” said Pat Warner, Waffle House’s vice president of culture.

The restaurant, which will be known as “Unit 1996” — the year that Atlanta hosted the Summer Olympic Games, is located along Centennial Olympic Park Drive between Andrew Young International Boulevard and Luckie Street.

The doors of the restaurant will open at 8 a.m. on March 25, and the first 100 guests will receive $10 in Waffle House certificates. That will be followed with an “opening ceremony” celebration at 11 a.m. All Waffle House fans and downtown visitors are invited to join in for the opening celebration to take a spin on the prize wheel and win Waffle House goodies.

“We are excited to offer the Waffle House experience to a number of great downtown businesses and the visitors of our great city,” Warner said. “We hope that the restaurant will become a kind of ‘welcome center’ for Atlanta’s out-of-towners and locals.”

Waffle House announced the downtown location in November, 2011, calling it a “showcase” restaurant overlooking Centennial Olympic Park. At the time, the Norcross-based restaurant chain thought the downtown location would open by mid-2012. But construction plans took longer that expected.

The new Waffle House, however, will be located at the western end of the Atlanta Streetcar line, which will connect Centennial Olympic Park with the King Center on Auburn Avenue.

Waffle House was founded in 1955. Today the privately-held company operates more than 1,650 restaurants in 25 states, and it is the world’s leading server of waffles, T-bone steaks, hash browns, cheese ‘n eggs, country ham, pork chops and grits.

For a list of all Waffle House restaurants, please click on www.wafflehouse.com.