Celebrate Me Home

As a front-of-the-house employee I see numerous people on a daily basis. Some of these faces become familiar as seniority builds within a particular workplace or city. The familiar faces are those that can keep both a guest, and an employee coming back.

As a server at Bob Evan’s I was surrounded by people that I grew to love. They became extended family. We would hold conversations about my little brother or their children in college. These were aspects about my job that kept me coming back on a continuous basis, and in learning these things I gained so much more than a monetary tip. Aside from the guest, my fellow employees grew to become some of the best friends that I have ever had.

During my interview at Bob’s, the manager told me that the staff was just like a family. I nodded in agreement and thought “ok sure.” It wasn’t until one of our staff members became a victim to a mugging that my 16-year old mind was wrapped around the idea that our “family,” was simply that.

We were all emotionally shaken by that event and the community members that were coming in for country fried steak and mashed potatoes were also noticeably concerned for us and her.This was an experience that brought us closer together as a store, a group fo friends, and a community.

Since then we have celebrated several different events such as births, weddings, birthdays, acceptance into colleges, and military welcome home parties. It is these events that keep me coming home to Bob’s. With each new baby or wedded bliss, my heart is called back to where I first started serving. I have been in the weddings, at the children’s birthday parties, and the farewell breakfasts to boot-camp. These relationships all contribute to the molding of the person that I am today.

I am fortunate to have such a strong friendship base back home. I can also say that I would have never thought that I would have learned the value of teamwork as it exists in a functional friendship circle had it not been for the nights that I spent hustling around serving up biscuits and gravy to familiar faces that I will never forget.

After all, as my favorite Judy Garland character always says, “There’s No Place Like Home.”