When Karen Graham started out at the Pacific Beach Broken Yolk restaurant more than two decades ago, it was the only one, and she worked in its only room.
Fast-forward 21 years, and there are now 17 Broken Yolks, the PB restaurant has added another whole room and an upstairs patio, and Karen Graham is still there and still “loves her breakfast job.”
“I can’t imagine my life without being here,” admitted Graham, who’s been around restaurants since age 15, and was a bartender for 12 years, but just can’t resist serving at Broken Yolk.
“I’ve always been very happy here,” she said. “The quality of my life is better because of this job.”
An avowed “people person,” Graham enthused that “I’m good at it.”
She acknowledged being adept at dealing with people — all kinds — is what you have to be to achieve success in the restaurant biz.
“We are the ones (servers) who always have to be happy no matter what,” Graham said. “I love talking to people. It’s something that comes natural. I’m very happy doing what I do.”
But one downside, according to Graham, is that waitresses often “get blamed for everything.”
“People don’t realize what we do a lot of times,” she said while pointing out the wait staff “doesn’t cook.”
Graham cited one occasion when the kitchen had messed up her order, but one patron overheard and was sympathetic.
“She said to me, ‘If I wasn’t sitting up here (counter) — I would have blamed you.’ But because I saw what happened, it wasn’t you.”
“Thank you for saying that,” Graham responded, adding, “I can only do so much.”
One of the hardest parts of being a server, besides juggling several plates of food at one time and dealing with the occasional problem patron, is of course being on your feet for long periods.
“Sometimes it’s physical,” she said, pointing out it can be mentally taxing too.
“We deal with so many different personalities, sometimes it’s exhausting mentally for sure.” Graham said. “My boss has always been good to me,” she said. “His daughter is one of my best friends. I’m considered part of the family almost.”
It also doesn’t hurt that being a server is one of those few occupations where you go home with money in your pocket from tips after every shift. Graham likes that. She even likes being more busy than not, which is why she likes working downstairs at Broken Yolk where the customer action, she said, is more “burn and turn.”
“I work at the counter where people eat and then go,” Graham said. “I love the fast pace. I really do.”
Time goes by way quicker. There’s a lot going on.”
Graham likes working breakfasts because “it’s the quickest, most modified meal. So if you can do this, you can do anything.”
“Weekends are the busiest,” noted Graham of business adding that, during the peak summertime “every day is busy.”
Asked what’s key to being a successful waitress, Graham replied, “It’s knowing what people need, giving them things before they’ve asked. They’re paying money. I want them to have a great experience. I want them to come back.”