Nov. 20, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Vanguard Hospitality.

Forty-five years after she first put on a Minervas uniform, longtime server Ruth Nickel will greet her final customers this week.

Nickel, who recently turned 70, will retire after her final shift on Saturday, Nov. 22.

“I thought, well, I made it to 70,” said Nickel, who first joined Minervas in 1980 and then returned in 2001.

“I might be the oldest server that’s ever worked here.”

The Colton native’s hospitality career started after she chose not to pursue a role with the airlines when the school she attended closed. She followed her roommate to Michigan, where she started working at a brand-new Red Lobster.

“I just like mingling with people,” she said. “I like to talk and give the best experience they can get at a restaurant.”

She moved back to Sioux Falls and was a server at Maine Lobster and The Northlander, where one night she met then Minervas owner Paul Van Bockern.

“I’d always known of Paul because my mom and his mom were classmates, so he came in for dinner, and I knew of him and talked to him about it,” Nickel said.

She started at Minervas in 1980, left in 1986 when her children were young and then returned in 2001.

“I know so many people. The people are the main reason I like to do it,” she said. “I just enjoy it so much. I’ll miss everyone a lot, but the time has come.”

Vanguard Hospitality CEO Ken Bashore has known Nickel for decades.

“She’s just created so many relationships with so many of our regulars,” he said. “When you come in, it’s more like hanging out with a friend even though they’re taking care of you.”

Many guests come in and request to be seated in Nickel’s section, he added.

“If she was your mom, you’d love her,” he said. “She’s just so upbeat and happy, a class act. That’s the hard part about seeing her retire.”

For her part, Nickel has accumulated plenty of memories.

“Any note people write on my tickets, I always take a picture, so I have all the notes in an album on my phone,” she said. “I have one couple I haven’t seen in awhile, so I’m hoping they come in this week, but every time, he leaves a little note on the bottom of the credit card receipt, so I have lots from them.”

With her newfound free time, Nickel plans to travel — two of her three kids live out of state along with grandchildren — as well as continuing to stay in touch with her former co-workers.

“We like to get together and reminisce,” she said. “Minervas has been a big part of my life. They’ve been there for me when my husband was sick with cancer years ago; people supported me a lot and helped my kids and me. They’ve just been there for me when I needed them. I’ll miss it.”