by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
Downtown has an appealing glitz to those in the service industry that live outside of the city’s wall’s who are hoping to take in a change of scenery. The Landing. The riverfront. Hemming Plaza. But can a person really make a living waiting tables there?
The answer is yes and no. According to a couple who work in the industry, it all depends on location and speed of service.
Burrito Gallery is a one-of-a-kind that opened in February 2005 right before the Super Bowl. Labeled by regulars as BG, Burrito Gallery is on Adams Street opposite the old Main Library and employees there say it’s not the restaurant’s location that makes it successful, but its fast service.
Katie Cornell has been working there as both a bartender and server since the place opened and says the lion’s share of the business she gets comes from Downtown employees who visit on their lunch breaks and want good, consistent food and quick service.
“We get a lot more business people than anything else, especially for lunch,” said Cornell. “People know that here, they can get in, eat and get back to work in time.”
Cornell’s shifts alternate between dinner and lunch and she said she is consistently more slammed during her morning shifts. Burrito Gallery is also open for dinner as well as lunch Wednesday through Saturday.
“We always have something going on here but lunchtime, from about 11:45 to 1:30, is slammed,” she said.
Burrito Gallery’s “Guatamerican” substantial yet light menu includes things like salads, quesadillas and tacos.
Cornell, who lives only about 10 minutes away from work, says that even if she lived farther away or was only working part-time there, the drive would be well worth it.
“Even for college students or for those at the beach, the hourly rate that we get here is phenomenal,” said Cornell.
Unlike Burrito Gallery — which is in sort of a Downtown vacuum — restaurants at the Landing benefit from two things: being part of a destination and competition, which gives hungry Downtown workers and visitors options.
Tawana Preece is a server at Vito’s Italian restaurant at the Landing and has been working there as a full-time waitress for a little over two months. Preece says she makes more than enough to support her and her two sons and pay her mortgage — with some left over.
“I make enough money to pay my bills and still have enough left over to party,” she said.
According to Preece, the extra cash flow has less to do with her skills as a waitress than some might think. Preece attributes her success as a full-time waitress in a town that has become well-known as a commuter city to Vito’s itself, citing the restaurant’s reputation and location as the main reasons there are no “slow times.”
“At some places, you go to work and you have maybe two hours that you’re slammed and then four hours with nothing to do,” she said. “That doesn’t happen here. We’re pretty consistent.”
Vito’s General Manager Nasiol Saro says although they try to promote fun incentives like innovative happy hours and drink specials, the Landing itself – in addition to the food – helps draw the customers in.
“There are live concerts five nights a week at the Landing,” said Saro. “There’s always something going on here.”
Saro says that unlike some Downtown restaurants, Vito’s has a pretty even distribution of out-of-towners as well as locals, partially due to the fact that the Landing is a tourist destination.
“We get a lot of people who are on vacation from the hotels who come in for dinner, so it’s a pretty good mix,” he said.