The entertainer came to sling hash browns and sign autographs for hundreds of fans during a fundraiser at a suburban Atlanta diner. The event came just a week after Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, pleaded not guilty to a charge of battery from a fight last fall at another Waffle House.
Waffle House spokeswoman Kelly Thrasher said the Atlanta-based company wanted to "take a negative situation and turn it into a positive situation."
Proceeds from the fundraiser were to go to Nicholas House, a homeless shelter for families in DeKalb County, where the 37-year-old entertainer was arrested last October following a fight with a customer.
Ritchie was met by enthusiastic fans, some of whom drove hundreds of miles to see him.
First in line: Ashley Miles, 21, a nurse from Morgantown, W. Va., and her mother, Terri Miles, from Maryland. They arrived at 8:30 p.m. Monday, set up chairs and waited all night for a chance to see the star.
"I love him, he is gorgeous," the daughter said.
Later Tuesday, Ritchie was scheduled to play a show at Gwinnett Arena, north of the city.
