Day in the Life: Sam & Ethels, the Family Behind The Counter

A day in the life of a server …

When you enter the front door of Sam and Ethel’s, you will most likely hear one of two things: “Sit at any clean table; we have three rooms,” or, “Please, sign in. We are on a wait.”

Daily, the staff begins the day by brewing coffee, stocking the shelves and wrapping silverware. They then start warming the pancake/waffle syrup, greeting people as they enter, and answering the phone for carryout orders once the restaurant opens.

From an outsider's perspective, Sam and Ethel's is a great place to grab a bite for breakfast or lunch. The quaint little family diner has a couple of rooms, a few tables in each, and a collection of kind staff that come around and take your order. However, if you look deeper, you’ll find that Sam and Ethel’s staff are so much more than meets the eye.

Each day, Monday, Thursday through Saturday, and every other Sunday, waitress Jodi Walker wakes up, puts on a smile, and spends the rest of her day bouncing from table to table. Jodi’s smiling face is one of the first things you’ll see when walking in the door at Sam and Ethel’s and one of the last before you leave. Jodi and her female gang of friends and coworkers have a careful system at the restaurant, and it’s one that’s worked for years. Within the brick diner walls are three rooms full of loyal customers. The girls rotate each room each day, so if you don't see Jodi, you might see the smiling faces of either Sheri, Roxie, or Brooke. These four forces hold down the weekdays and are one of the main reasons Sam and Ethel’s is the coveted place it is.

But how do these ladies maintain a smiling face through it all? Surely, even as the one sitting at the table, you sometimes get the urge to put another customer in their place. Sheri compares her life as a server to that of an actress. Each day, whether she’s feeling down in the dumps or on cloud nine, she paints her face with a smile and gives each table her all. The same can be said for Jodi, Roxie, and Brooke. The life of a waitress is the life of someone who makes their smile count. No matter the day Jodi is having, her customers always get the impression that it’s a good one; this, paired with their excellent service, is why the Sam and Ethel’s ladies are so well-loved in the Tipp City community. Even when they’re having a bad day, the devoted waitresses are making the days of others, one table at a time.

At every restaurant, the servers do the same tasks of rolling silverware, answering phones, stocking the shelves, and, of course, catering to their tables. So, what makes the crew at Sam and Ethel's so special? Well, the ladies who make each day at Sam and Ethel’s the bright and cheerful day it is are not only a crew within diner walls but outside as well. Jodi, Sheri, Brooke, and Roxie each share at least a few days a week together, and when their schedules all align, regulars would even say they could finish each other's sentences. Throughout the seasons, customers and even regulars, Jodi, Sheri, Roxie and Brooke have maintained a relationship that exceeds the usual coworker acquaintance. The Sam and Ethel’s ladies and the rest of the staff have become less of a staff and more of a family. Behind the counter and inside their homes, the restaurant’s hard-working team is there for each other through thick and thin. The care that the Sam and Ethel’s crew have for each other seeps from behind the counter and into the friendly faces of each customer that waltzes through the diner’s door. That’s probably the reason so many of the same customers keep coming back. The restaurant's team's relationship is one that couldn’t be replicated anywhere else, and Jodi, Sheri, Roxie and Brooke are what truly make Sam and Ethel's one of Tipp City’s beloved places to grab a bite to eat.

Sam and Ethel’s Restaurant

120 E. Main St., Tipp City

Hours:

Monday 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Closed Tuesday and Wednesday

Wednesday-Saturday 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Sunday 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.