What is the importance of The Waffle House in the novel, Althea & Oliver?

The Waffle House restaurant in Wilmington is where Althea takes Oliver when he comes to her house in the middle of the night demanding to go. Normally, they don't like Waffle House but she takes him because he is so insistent. When Oliver wants to sleep in the booth there and Althea tries to get him to leave, he becomes enraged, throwing things and becoming verbally abusive. Althea had no way of knowing but Oliver was still in a sleep state and not really aware of what he was doing.