Friday Night Bites

I am back at an old restaurant from a previous field note, number 3.  It try to sit in the same section as the last time in order to get a more repetitive perspective. I am sitting near the back of elevated seating area. The restaurant is more crowded than the last time. I am here at the same time and day of the week though. The area isn't as clean as the last time, perhaps the crowded dinner rush has left the establishment short staffed. Not incredibly unsanitary but there are dishes left on more than 3 tables near me.

The table at the entrance of the elevated section has a large family with two tables pushed together. There is a mother, father, three daughters and an infant that I believe belongs to the eldest daughter. The family appears to be Hispanic and from the vernacular used in the bits of conversation I can hear, they speak a Spanish-English mix. The father is balding with nice clothes on. The mother has her hair done and a fresh nail job; they are at least 2 inches long. They both appear to be in their late forties to fifties. The eldest daughter is talking to the parents about something that has to do with UTEP. The eldest looks like she is in her early twenties. The teenage sister to her left is consumed by her cell phone, she gives the impression of not knowing if anyone is around her. When the waiter comes teenage daughter barely looks up to respond. The final daughter is about 6-10 years old. She sits with pig tails and an El Paso Chihuahuas t-shirt. She is playing with what looks like her infant nephew.

The restaurant is clearing up after about half an hour of my note taking. The noise from the bar has significantly died down because of a large group of college football fans leaving. The kitchen has become slightly louder with the clanking kid dishes. But I could probably attribute that to the emptying of the store.

The table next to me that has filled up has a group of four. It looks like two couples. They both appear to be in high school because of their attire. Three of the four are wearing letterman jackets from a local high school. They are all talking about a football game that is being hosted the college stadium. Apparently they left the game at the half because they were hungry. The two girls of the table are talking to each other about something on a social media site. They are sharing each other’s phones and laughing.

My night here is over but people are still coming into the restaurant. The popularity may be from the family atmosphere and diverse American based menu, appealing to a wider range of people. This restaurant may have the most diverse ethnic audience. More than any of the other places that I have visited. 

The Slow Day at Royalty Burger

It is five in the afternoon, the weather is partly cloudy, and I just started my shift at Royalty Burger. There are four groups of people, each made up of two in the lobby. They appear to be in no rush and are enjoying their meals leisurely. According to my co-worker Ms. V one group in particular has apparently been chatting in the lobby for over an hour and a half. I have been put on Drive-thru again and an elderly woman ordered one plain cheeseburger. It always surprises me when someone orders such a small meal. Apparently older people do not need the same amount of food as people in their youth.

Not long after the elderly woman came two cars that both ordered one ice cream cone. I had guessed they may have come together and my guess was confirmed when the first driver pulled up and revealed that she was the second driver’s wife. She paid for her husband with a huge grin on her face while the husband laughed.

It is now six thirty and my manager Ms. Krys put both myself and one of my co-workers on break because the place was so slow.

My break is up and some super hyped up girls are asking for napkins. My manager Ms. Krys seems annoyed at this because they are not buying anything but nevertheless asks me to just get them “outta here”. I inferred they were high school girls because I had heard there was a football game this weekend. As they drive up I get another order by two girls and they are being quite hard to understand. At first it seems like they water a “large frappe” and I finally understood they wanted a large fry. They found it very amusing.

Soon after the high school girls and “frappe fry girls” came a bunch of rowdy people into the lobby. They seemed really excited which seemed to confirm my previous though about a high school football game. One of them in particular seemed to keep the groups’ energy level up. He was about 5.9, Hispanic, and had a buzz cut. Luckily enough they ordered to go and we did not have to keep up with their energy.

Overall the place was really slow and it was nice to take it easy rather than move at the normal fast-pace. Also, it seemed my co-workers felt the same.