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Rachel is one of the most popular waitresses I've interviewed. Every time I'm with her in public we are stopped by several of her adoring fans that she served over the 55 years she worked at Louis' Restaurant in San Francisco. Rachel's unforgettable. She has been written about and praised in newspapers as far away as Japan.
...waiting style...
Well, this is my world, it's the most important thing
to me -- it was and still is. I made an art out of waitressing.
I don't just wait on people, I want them to feel pleasantly,
make sure everything is hot, pick up their orders right
away, coffee should be nice and hot and tasty, you know?
Because it's different today, everything is kind of
automatic, you have to ask for every little thing and
then they make you feel embarrassed when you don't get
what you asked for. But at Louis' they have a very efficient
attitude and the waitresses care.
...fire at Louis'...
We had a fire at Louis' in 1966. I remember, it was June 26, at 2:30 in the afternoon and the flames were going all over and smoke was everywhere. And there was a lady sitting in the restaurant and she asked me, "Can I have a refill on coffee?" And the place was on fire! Can you believe that?
...regular customers...
99% of my customers were unbelievably beautiful. They come from all over the world. Italy, France, England, Japan, Hong Kong, and they always wanted to take their picture with me and then they'd mail it to me and I value that very much. I run into my customers from time to time. As a matter of fact I was at a Rene Fleming concert last Friday night and I met a customer there who I hadn't seen in 20 years and he remembered my name. Isn't that some small world?
...on retirement...
Well the thing is, mentally I'm the same as I was, but
I got sick with asthma. I don't know how I got it but
I was so ill, I had to stop waitresing at 82 years old.
I still miss the place and my lovely customers. |
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