Name: Holly Harwood-Edes
Position: Server and part time Social Media Strategist
How long have you been with CK? 6 years
What is your background?
In my life, I have done a little bit of everything. Tee-Ball score Keeper, volunteer Quidditch Voach, wilderness survival guide, behavioral management, worked on an organic farm, have been a private soccer coach, sold knives, bartended, coached/corralled a 5 year old basketball team and a 10-12-year-old team, soccer ref, delivered newspapers, softball umpire, and sold Christmas trees and snow cones at the same time in the same place. I have been in the hospitality industry on and off for almost two decades and have worked mostly front of house roles in various restaurants. Recently, I completed my Bachelor’s Degree from App State. For the past several months I have supported Corner Kitchen with their social media efforts!
What do you love about working at the CK?
The people I work with are outstanding. The chefs care about the food and guest experience. They work extremely hard. Try cooking for over 400 people in 6 hours someday… The other servers are always there to lend a helping hand when needed. It is a good environment to be a part of. The people I work with are also hilarious and there is never a dull moment.
What is your most memorable experience with a guest?
One experience that I will never forget is this time a daughter brought her mother in for lunch. Our chefs make this fried oyster salad that people come specifically to have anytime they are in town. Locals come once a week just for this salad. On this particular day we were out of oysters because of a shortage due to weather-related issues. As I walked towards the table the mother and daughter occupied, I could see their menus stacked neatly to the side. I immediately recognized the two as regulars who always ordered the oyster salad. The mother appeared to be in her late eighties, dressed impeccably, but looked like she was feeling under the weather. We exchanged hellos and small talk, as they recognized me as well. Then I had to deliver the unfortunate news that we were out of oysters. Both lady’s shoulders dropped in disappointment. We would be getting a shipment in on Friday, but the weather patterns were delaying the harvesting of the oysters. The mother looked me dead in the eye, shrugged her shoulders and said, “I’ll probably be dead by then.” Wide eyed, I turned toward the daughter who said, with a shrug of her shoulders, “It’s true. She really wanted that salad one more time.” It was one of the few times in my life, I was speechless. I went in the back to confer with Chef Weeks to make sure we had not overlooked a container of oysters in the walk-in. We looked through every inch of every shelf in cold storage. No oysters. I went back to the table and explained that we simply did not have them. They ordered other meals, enjoyed them, and we wished each other well as they departed. Man, I felt bad, but I also knew it was out of mine and the restaurant’s control. When the ocean doesn’t want to give up its oysters, you can’t get them. Anyway, about 6 months go by and I am working a busy lunch one afternoon. I am running food for a co-worker and I round the host stand heading to table 24 when who do I see but the mother. She is at a table with two friends, looking much better. I stumble over my words as I give the other ladies their food and I try to come up with a way to say, “you’re not dead!” She could read it in my face and as I placed her fried oyster salad in front of her, she patted my hand, and looked me dead in the eye and winked!
What is your favorite thing to eat?
My wife is an excellent cook and we started making a list of things to serve if we ever had the Obama’s over for dinner. She makes these mini black bean and sweet potato sliders that she tops with different things like avocado and roasted tomatoes. They are amazing and would defiantly be on the list. Also, she makes these crispy eggplant pizzas that are drool-worthy.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Older generations giving the millennials a hard time. Every generation says the same things about the generations who come after them. This generation will change the world, and only for the better.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Doing my dream job: being the Director of Creative Marketing and Social Media for a professional baseball team. I would get to spend my days traveling to different cities and stadiums then sharing that experience in a way that lets fans feel like extended family. If I am not doing that, hopefully it is because my side project, “Stoneman and Friends” has taken off. That means Billy and I will be wealthy. No matter where I am in 10 years, I know I have a great wife, family, and friends to share it with.
Human(s) of Corner Kitchen is a continuing blog piece we run each month about a staff member in our restaurant.
