Sharing smiles is part of her job

Over the last few years, the Athenian Grill in Suisun has faced a lot of challenges. The restaurant suffered a fire, which closed it down while they did some reconstruction. Not too long before it was supposed to re-open, COVID hit and shut down pretty much everything. Because of COVID, it was difficult to get a crew to finish the building. Finally, when they were ready to re-open the restaurant, they were challenged with staff shortages.

Yenifer Montar Ortiz is one of the people who helped solve the staff shortages. Dressed in her black pants, white shirt, and non-slip shoes, she’s been working as a hostess at the restaurant for a few months and she sometimes assists the servers. “This is my first job,” said Montar. It isn’t in her field but she had her reasons for taking the job. “I wanted to help out my parent because I see them struggling and I wanted to work,” she said, adding that this was one of the reasons she found herself working at The Athenian Grill.

“My freshman teacher told me about a restaurant that needed people so I decided to go there,” she said. And it has paid off. She works about six hours a week, although she worked more during the summer, and she likes her boss. “She is kind, loving and sweet.”

“The best about the job is welcoming people with a smile, and helping out the server,” Montar said. She said she loves it when people come in and she is able to be helpful. But it isn’t always easy. Because the location is popular, there is often a wait list for people who prefer to sit outside on the patio” and her job is to keep track of those people.

“When I have a day off, I like to walk my two dogs who love walking. But mostly, I enjoy hanging out with my sister. She’s the best.

Her ultimate goal is to go into the medical field as a surgeon or a nurse. This is one step in the right direction for Montar as she looks forward to graduation in June.