Every morning before dawn, Dolores Jeanpierre has been waking up bright and early for the past 41 years. She’s working at the same job she always has, doing the same work, and yet, there’s something very specific that makes her story so impactful.
In 1975, Jeanpierre got a job working at Ole’s Waffle Shop and subsequently made history as the first black waitress in Alameda, CA. This doesn’t seem to faze her, though. "I don't think of it as anything, you know? I'm just a Louisiana country girl."
It’s an unfortunate reality that service jobs are often dismissed, despite being so integral to our daily lives. Still, there are countless people — waitresses, in particular! — who perform incredible acts of kindness that bring so much light to their community. Remember Jessica Dunbar, the waitress who paid for cops to have lunch after one of their own passed, or the waitress who left a touching note for a grieving couple?
Jeanpierre might be older than these women, but she’s only had more years to spend with the locals who clearly adore her.
"The customers — I know 80% of them by first name," Jeanpierre says, gesturing at very specific seats, all while meticulously setting each table ahead of the morning crowd. She never quite seems to stop moving throughout the whole video, and perhaps that makes sense.
When asked about retirement, she scoffs, almost jokingly. "I just like to make people happy." And aren’t those words of wisdom to live by?
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The Regulars – Ole's Waffle Shop from San Francisco Chronicle on Vimeo.
