Inspired by his battle with cancer in conjunction with the less profound observation of his cat licking its own balls, Billy Owczarski transformed an everyday kitchen appliance into, not just a fun way to have breakfast, but a source of humor and an incentive for positivity and creativity in his time of adversity.
Waking and baking takes on an unparalleled meaning when you’ve got a cannabis leaf-shaped waffle iron in your life. And what could be a better time, especially when we’re all stuck in the house with little to distract ourselves outside of Tiger King memes and growing existential anxiety.
Billy took a negative situation and created something positive out of it – a situation we could learn from, and something we can now all enjoy. Deemed a favorite by Tommy Chong for its versatility and individuality, the Waffleye™ has proven itself to be a fantastic way to help fuel not only our breakfast game, but inspire creativity in the kitchen.
In the midst of a global pandemic, Billy’s wife and Owner Alex Owczarski updated us on how they’ve been and informed me that they’ve been doing what they do best:
“We’ve been dealing with quarantine by eating a lot of waffles! Since it is 4/20 all month long, we have been focusing on easy recipes to cook in the waffle maker, such as biscuits (and gravy), puff pastry, cinnamon rolls, brownies, omelets, etc. All of these recipes are made with stoners in mind, the ingredients are easy to find, and the recipes are very simple to follow but allow a lot of room for creativity. Focusing on these recipes has kept us busy cooking, photographing, and eating a lot of waffles.
Alex also encourages customers to take advantage of this weird time we’re in and to embrace the new, albeit unexpected ways we are celebrating 4/20 this year.
“We have found that the stay-at-home orders have provided us with down time that we really needed. We have embraced it, slowed down, self-reflected both personally and professionally, and used the time to be productive. It is so easy to sit on the couch and do nothing, but we encourage people to take advantage of this down time, and stay connected with themselves, their friends and family during this time. Celebrating 4/20 may be a little different this year, but there is still opportunity to make it a social event. Hop on a zoom meeting with friends, watch a funny movie, and eat some waffles!”
Right now, it’s important to support local businesses and the individuals behind them so that they can continue to thrive in the future. And in honor of 4/20, Waffleye™ is offering 20% off with discount code 42020 until April 20th, but be on the lookout for a possible extension for all DTLA Weekly readers, courtesy of Alex!
The Waffleye™ Waffle Maker can be purchased through their website, Waffleeye.com, which also offers a ton of awesome recipes you can try while you’re stuck at home. The Waffle Maker is also available for purchase on Amazon, Etsy, and Facebook, and is also featured on the @jeffthe420chef website.
With every purchase of a Waffleye™ Waffle Maker, a portion of profits go to the very hospital Billy received his treatment – the City of Hope Cancer Treatment and Research Center. For more info visit: www.waffleeye.com
