SERVER SAYS: Food Industry Professionals

Share the Value of Their Work

By KATIE ZAKRZEWSKI, CASSIDY KENDALL AND EMILY SUNDERMEIER

Chef José Andrés once said, “The business of feeding people is the most amazing business in the world.” Such a quote can be applied to all hard-working Arkansans who roll up their sleeves, ties on aprons and works to prepare meals for customers at the start, middle or end of the day.

With more than 53,000 Arkansans employed in the food and beverage industry across the state, there is no doubt that the servers, hosts, bartenders, cooks, chefs and bussers who take care of us from the moment we arrive to the moment we leave are some of the most crucial economic drivers that we encounter.

Through our online and print series, Server Says, AY About You highlights the dedicated men and women who direct you to your seat, bring you food and drink, and serve you as their guest. Server Says highlights the compassion, efficiency, hospitality and culinary integrity upheld by so many in our state’s restaurant industry.

“I started at Cajun’s Wharf in 1975. I’ve been at SO Restaurant-Bar in Little Rock since 2006, and I was at Macaroni Grill before that,” said Veo Tyson. One of the best-known bartenders in the Capital City, Tyson said the atmosphere at SO welcomes all who come in.

“We did a remodeling in 2006 before opening. You come in feeling like you’re in New York,” he said. “We’ve got beautiful stone walls. I believe that the building was constructed by someone who had a rock quarry, and those walls are beautiful.”

Tyson explained the industry is one that brings people from all walks of life. Some of them are eager to share their happiest moments and, more often than not, customers become friends.

“I’ve gotten to the point where I have many regulars, and I consider them all my friends because you get used to seeing these people when they’re celebrating life’s milestones,” he said. “I have one couple who comes in whenever they have a special event in their lives. They came in the evening before the woman gave birth. It was wonderful to see them and visit with them as they prepared for that event.”

Veo Tyson

Lauren Dawson, a bartender at The Ohio Club in Hot Springs, echoes the sentiment. For her, the best part of blending cocktails in the Spa City is the people.

“I love waiting on people,” she said earnestly. “I love meeting new people, hearing their stories, telling them my story — and making fun drinks.”

It’s typical of Dawson to make customers feel welcome at her bar. She will make any drink upon request (although she’ll recommend the Rock Town Old Fashioned) and ask about your life story. She admits she is not great with names, but faces, drinks and shared stories are immediately committed to memory.

“Everyone has a story,” she said. “You should not judge a book by its cover. Sometimes the most interesting person sitting at the bar doesn’t look that way, but they end up being that way.”

Frequently Dawson will encounter someone sitting alone quietly at her bar, so she subtly probes to see if they would like to talk a little. She said it’s not uncommon to end the night in a genuine friendship with that person.

“We kind of end up being like a therapist,” Dawson said when asked what’s most important about her job. “Even if they’re by themselves, they want to come to sit at the bar and unwind, and sometimes they may not have somebody to talk to. That’s what bartenders are; we’re more than just about making drinks, we’re entertaining in a sense.”

For Thomas Williams, a server at The Terrace Mediterranean Kitchen in Little Rock who has called the restaurant his home for 17 years, his faith urges him to seek out companionship with all of his guests.

“I’m a churchgoer, I’m a believer. I don’t try to hide my Christianity while I’m at work,” Williams said. He added that a high-quality server enjoys the job and the customers.

“You have to like people. If you enjoy your job and enjoy what you’re presenting to the people, it’s not a job,” he said. “My grandmother always told me, ‘If you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.’ I’ve been here for so long, my customers and I are not friends, we’re family.”

Such a lengthy career has afforded Williams the opportunity to treat his customers as just that: family.

“The most memorable occasion I had was when I was taking care of an older gentleman, and he had a mild stroke at the table,” Williams said. “One of the ladies at the table asked if he was OK, and I didn’t believe he was because I could recognize the symptoms. “Afterward, his family sent me a thank-you card and told me how much they appreciated us taking care of him. The grandkids came back, and they still come in today. To see the people that you’re taking care of, to have their kids and their kids’ kids come in to visit, is just a beautiful thing.”

Alan Napier at Petit & Keet has had the chance to develop close relationships with his customers, too. His passion for the restaurant industry and customer service has been with him for the majority of his life. He discovered his love for the culinary arts through a Home Economics course during his soph omore year of high school, where he found that he enjoyed cooking. From starting out as a fry cook at 15 years old to becoming general manager of Petit & Keet in Little Rock, Napier’s devotion to providing people with quality service and Southern hospitality has allowed him to serve in a role that gives him the best of both worlds.

Napier has known the Petit and Keet families for a number of years, dating back to Napier’s upbringing in the beach community of Gulf Breeze, Florida. He became acquainted with the Keets through one of his best friends, who lived across the street from the Keet family. He also grew up with the Petits’ son, Louis, and they spent a lot of time together in their early adulthoods.

Napier started out as a bartender at Petit and Keet, then moved up to bar manager. He stepped into the role of general manager one week before the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, he wanted to create a loyal clientele by adding personalized touches, such as handwritten notes from the staff on to-go orders. These personalized touches still remain a part of Petit & Keet’s customer service.

“We welcome people into our family,” Napier said. “We talk to every table in here each night. We come by the table and check to see how everything is. If they think it’s OK, that’s not OK. OK is not what we strive for. We want to know how we can make it better. If they want to talk to us, they talk to us. If not, we give them a card with our contact information, so they can send us an email so we can get it straightened away.”

Unfortunately, the stress from the pandemic and economic upsets can cause customers to lash out at servers, bartenders and managers. Even in the face of displeasure, members of the food and beverage industry exercise their empathy.

“I have a lot of patience with people. There’s good in everybody. You just have to be patient with people,” Tyson said. “Some folks have a bad experience and a bad day, and they take that home with them from the office sometimes. I weather the storm, and it usually turns out for the better. People warm up to you and realize that they were being difficult.”

Napier, on the other hand, manages to find excitement in the uncertainty of the restaurant industry and each customer. This, he said, allows for personal growth.

“It was challenging,” Napier said. “I walked right into managing during COVID, the hardest thing anybody has ever faced in our lifetime. It was very challenging but very interesting. We had to redefine our business to a to-go scenario, and we were eager to get people back in here. I like that I never know what I’m walking into. Some people get scared by that, but I feed off of that. It excites me. Controlled chaos is the key to my life.”

Napier suspects that with the pandemic coming to a close, more and more people will be dining out, so he welcomes the exercise that each customer gives him.

“You spend two years in your house, you go kind of stir-crazy,” he said. “You want to see people. I want [the restaurant] to keep getting busier. I’d rather be busy every night of the week than have a slow night with not much to do.”

Williams emphasized that the pandemic made a lot of people forget about the bigger picture.

“The devil is a constant reminder and author of confusion, and he works to keep us separated and bickering with one another about little things that don’t matter,” Williams said. “After [COVID-19], the things that are so obsolete and nonsensical mean nothing. All we really wanted was to be together. We couldn’t, but now, when you don’t have any sense of connection besides Zoom, people can tend to pick apart and judge the smallest of details about a person.”

Even if some folks make life for individuals in the food industry difficult, these hardworking bartenders, servers, and managers are able to remember everyone’s humanity, as well as their own.

Tyson said, “I get pleasure from taking care of my guests. If they leave happy, I’m happy. There are times when people come in seeking conversation. There are times when people just want to come in and drink their cocktail. And I tend to read that.”

“I’ve built some very good relationships. I don’t think everybody can do it because you have to have patience and the ability to tolerate people. When you work with people and listen to them, you can become a close friend.”

Napier sees a bright future ahead for Petit & Keet and attributes its success to the staff and loyal fanbase of regulars that visit.

“It’s very community-driven, and I love that about this city,” Napier said. “I love this place, and I love the people here and the support that has been given. I see the restaurant continuing to grow and thrive like it is now.

“On any given night, I can walk through and probably know someone at a majority of our tables. Those people come in and bring a friend, and that friend brings a friend, and then they become regulars. That’s the key to building a business: one person at a time, and a slow time is when you can really build relationships. When you’re busy, you maintain those relationships and keep them happy.”

Dawson said waiting on customers in the food industry lets her know how lucky she is to be doing what she loves in the Spa City,

“It’s weird living in a place like Hot Springs, because you don’t realize how special it is because you’re here,” Dawson said. “And people come from other states like Louisiana, Texas and Missouri, and they talk about how much they love Hot Springs. And I’m like yeah, I do too, but I like to see their perspective coming here. It’s cool to think people come here and it’s so amazing to them, because it is.”

For the future, Dawson wants to continue doing what she’s always done, but on a grander scale.

“If it’s not bartending, maybe getting in higher management and eventually becoming a liquor rep or owning a bar,” Dawson said. “It’s my goal to own my bar one day, and I’ll probably still bartend if I own it. But I’m going to be here awhile. I love this place.”

For Williams, being hospitable to his guests ties back to his faith. It all boils down to kindness.

“Kindness goes a long way. I’ve seen people with a lot of money that have not lived a very successful life. I’ve seen people with little money live a very successful life. Money doesn’t make you happy,” Williams said.

“Make sure your light outlives your life, because people remember the extraordinary, they don’t remember the ordinary. Love doesn’t die, it just changes from one form to the other. What did you do while you were here that was reflective of how you lived?” *

A wise person once said, “If you want to see a person’s character, watch how he or she treat their waiter.”

Servers and food industry workers see us on our best days and our worst days. They work hard to make us feel at home and to fill our bodies and minds, but the best ones also fill our souls. The next time you enjoy a night out or place your order, be nice to the folks who prepare and bring your food. They’ve seen it all, and they’ve got some great advice, so listen to what your server says.