The Pizza Place

I work at a little pizza place right at the edge of campus - it's a locally owned restaurant with a fair amount of local business, although it doesn't appeal to college students so much because its a bit pricey. There's a bar below the restaurant because it's a pizza place and pub, but the bar has lost the majority of its business ever since it was raided three years ago and caught with 83 underagers in the place. I'll admit the pizza's delicious, though it no longer fits into my diet (being a fitness instructor and all). I waitress there mostly at night, where we have a nightly buffet. I can't say I love working a buffet, especially considering I work on tips and nobody really tips at a buffet.

So I'll withhold the name of my little restaurant because there's a lot that goes on there that really shouldn't be mentioned, but I said I'd tell it how it really is, right? So on a daily basis I come in and there is a stack of dishes in the dishroom and a slew of dirty tables. What does this mean? That while the owner was working the afternoon shift, he served the customers, took the tips off the table, and left the dishes and tables for the 4:30 waitress to clean up. Then I'll begin to fix up the place because we aren't exactly the classiest restaurant around...our ceiling has been torn off for a few months now due to water damage and I don't see any change in the near future. We also have the same booths, carpeting, and curtains from when the place first opened. So I'll clean up to make it look as classy a restaurant as I can, then start serving the first group of regular buffet goers that come in before we open our buffet at 5 to sit and wait for it. The sad part is, I can progressively watch their health suffer which each emptied plate I clear from their table. At about 7 o clock business slows down and the bartenders arrive downstairs. If it's warm enough, I know to open the windows to clear out the smell of weed wafting up through the vents because they've taken to hiding in the back room when there's no business and smoking up. Finally at 9 I get to close the buffet and spend the next hour cleaning up the place while also answering phones because the delivery drivers can't bother themselves to answer them as they post up in front of our big screen TV in the restaurant to watch Sons of Anarchy or the most recent sports game.

So, why put in all the extra effort for a job where nobody seems to care? I would like to say that I am just naturally a hard working person, and that IS partly the cause. I can't just come into a job and sit around. However, the other part is that our crew is really more like family at the restaurant and we like to see business doing fairly well despite a few lazy or apathetic employees. Lastly, people tend to tip more when they see a decent looking restaurant with good service, and this is probably the major factor. I've learned to do a lot of little things that'll earn me extra tips, like throwing on one of the cook's red aprons around my waist to look more like a waitress (we don't have uniforms).

I stick around at the job because I genuinely like it. The people that work there are other college students and we get along pretty well. It's not strict like a corporate restaurant where you have to wear a tie and  have a manager looking over your shoulder at any time. Plus, I can walk in and get some kind of food almost anytime, which is very helpful when one is low on groceries and they DO have a delicious salad bar. Lastly, it's close to home so I never have to drive and I get a decent amount of hours. At some restaurants, you can only expect a three to four hour shift, especially as a student who has other priorities. Here the shifts usually last around 6 hours and three to four times a week, which provides some much needed travel/spending money (*I was lucky enough to receive some scholarship money for college).

Anyway, it's not so bad this run-down restaurant I work at. Occasionally, like this weekend, you have to put in 10 to 12 hours at a time and you hate the place, but overall I count myself lucky to have found a job I don't dread going to every day after class.