July 25, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Vanguard Hospitality.

There was a time when the salad bar at Minervas in downtown Sioux Falls cost $4.95.

When the servers wore skirts so long they evoked comparisons to early prairie settlers.

When orders were written by hand and diners dressed up for meals out.

Those memories live on and grow in a team of servers who combined have nearly 150 years of service.

“They bring so much history to the building,” said Ken Bashore, CEO of Vanguard Hospitality. “They’re a continuum of what Minervas has stood for for decades. They’ve seen everything, they know everyone, and people come to Minervas because they’ve known them so long they’ve created relationships.”

Deb Cooper, Eva Mott, Barb Rook and Ruth Nickel

The longest tenured of the group is Barb Rook, who began at Minervas in 1986 after a restaurant she previously worked at closed.

“I think I applied twice before I got hired,” she said. “I started as a server, and you had to work your way to nights, so I started working lunches for quite a while, but I had a young son, so it worked out well.”

She remembers the uniform: a long black skirt that reached the ground, a white blouse and a maroon apron that went on over her head.

“We had tablecloths on all the tables, and I remember writing food tickets out by hand, and we had abbreviations for all the entrees so the cooks would know what we were writing,” she said.

Today, you’ll find her working four double-shifts a week, starting when the restaurant opens and continuing into the evening.

“I might go to just lunch once I can collect Social Security,” she said, laughing. “But I enjoy the people I work with, and the owners are nice people to work for.”

Ruth Nickel first put on a Minervas uniform back in 1980, before leaving after six years to raise her children. She returned in 2001.

“Originally, I worked at The Northlander as cocktail waitress, and I wasn’t making enough money, when former Minervas owner Paul VanBockern happened to be in for dinner one night, and I asked if they had any openings at Minervas,” she said.

“So I started out with lunches and worked my way up to doubles and back to just nights. Back then, we all wore the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ dresses with long aprons. You did get to pick your own colors. There were old mirrors at every table and on the walls, and wood floors that kind of creaked. We’d serve cigars to people who wanted them or get packs of cigarettes for them out of a machine. So things have definitely changed.”

She’s now down to four lunch shifts a week but plans to stick with it awhile longer.

“I’m going to try as long as I can,” she said. “I have a lot of regulars, and I enjoy talking with everyone I know.”

Deb Cooper’s Minervas career began with a life change. Newly single in 1989, she spent two months working as a bartender before becoming a server.

“I wanted to expand my horizons and I moved to Sioux Falls, and Minervas had an excellent reputation,” she said. “You had to fight to get in here. You had to really fight. They had stacks of applications.”

She now has come full circle and spends much of her time behind the bar over weekday lunches. You’ll find her there until 3 or 3:30 p.m. most days, entertaining everyone from regulars to out-of-town visitors.

“We get a lot of people walking in here for the first time, and they’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s beautiful here,’ not realizing how long we’ve been here,” she said.

“I have a lot of really dear customers, a lot of people that I really like, and I’m just as happy to see them as they are to see me.”

On Aug. 15, Eva Mott will mark her 36th year at Minervas, which she joined after a few years working at Minnehaha Country Club.

“I came here and was a cocktail waitress, and I don’t think it was quite a year before I got in on night serving, and I’ve been here continuously ever since,” she said. “There was a lot of competition to get in here.”

She now works one lunch shift and four evening shifts a week and plans to continue “as long as I can,” she said. “You just get up every day, and you just do it. The one thing about working here is no day is the same, ever. You have different customers, different sections, and things always happen.”

Each has her own distinct personality, Bashore said.

“Eva knows everybody. If I can’t remember a name, she’ll remind me. And she’s always got a joke for you. She knows how to read her table, when to go a little humorous and when to keep it completely professional,” he said. “Deb’s cut from the same cloth as Eva … but Deb’s a half-step even more to the distinctive humor side.”

On the other end of the spectrum, “Barb is probably the most understated and it’s endearing, and people know she’s efficient and she’ll take care of you,” he said.

“It works very well for business groups because she’s there to ensure they’re able to do the business they need to do over lunch. And Ruth is in between the others. She’s not about the jokes, but she definitely gives the personal touch to every experience, and she’s just a lovely person.”

Each of the longtime servers has guests who make reservations or come into the restaurant specifically to be served by them.

“They know their customers’ drinks of choice, they have everything set on the table, and that’s part of the customization of the guest’s experience. As a server, you’re essentially running a mini business in your section, and they understand that,” Bashore said.

“They’re all very efficient at their jobs, and I think our newer team members try and emulate them. They want to be able to create a regular guest list too. These servers have that because they’ve created such strong relationships with our guests, and we’re incredibly grateful for their service and that they continue to be part of our team.”