By Jane Ivory
16:05, March 12th 2008

Use Kid Rock and Waffle House in the same sentence and it usually reminds one of his infamous scuffle last year but this time around, the musician’s visit was all for a good cause.

Kid Rock returned to the scene of the crime, a Waffle House in Duluth, Georgia, with good intentions and a good vibe that are likely to have turned a sore situation for the better.

Back in October, Rock and several members of his entourage were arrested after being involved in a brawl with fellow customers of the breakfast-serving restaurant, but on Tuesday, the musician returned for a charity event.

Rock signed autographs for fans and took pictures with them during a fundraiser for the Nicholas House Foundation, a homeless shelter for families in DeKalb County, the Associated Press reports. (The event took place at another Waffle House.)

Waffle House spokeswoman Kelly Thrasher told the AP that the Atlanta-based company wanted to “take a negative situation and turn it into a positive situation.” Rock expressed similar feelings.

“The whole situation before was kind of silly. We just thought after that unfortunate incident we'd try to do something silly but something more positive,” he said.

Earlier this month, the rapper/rocker, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, pleaded not guilty to a charge of battery stemming from the fight last fall.

The 37-year-old told People magazine that he hoped the fundraiser would bring in between $15,000 and $20,000, from donations from fans, the Waffle House and money made from auctioning off items such as backstage passes to his shows.

“I like to take opportunities that might not be so positive and turn it around,” he told the magazine. “To me, the glass is always half full.”

Last year, Rock maintained that he had not started the fight. He appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show shortly after the incident and explained that he had not caused the brawl and that he was in fact provoked.