THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 7, 1995 TAG: 9507040117
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY REBECCA A. MYERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 145 lines
AT 82, SHE DARTS about like a teenager in her white polished tennis shoes.
She opens doors for groggy breakfast customers and flits from table to table, a pitcher of tea in one hand, a pot of coffee in the other.
For five years now, Sarah Mowbray has been the queen of Southern hospitality at Hardee's in Churchland, serving up ample helpings of pampering to go with those thousands of biscuits.
Care for some jelly on that ham and cheese biscuit? She'll bring it to you, along with a plastic knife and a paper napkin.
Coffee getting a little lukewarm? She'll refill it from a piping hot, fresh pot.
``When I go in there, my one thought is to give everybody who comes in the nicest dining experience that they can get in a fast-food restaurant,'' said Mowbray, a small woman dressed for comfort and speed.
At the peak of the morning breakfast crowd, Mowbray runs from table to table bringing people what they need, often before they ask for it.
Minutes later, she's at the condiments bar, replenishing straws, napkins and condiments. Between customers, she's wiping down tables, chairs and booths.
``She's the cleaningest woman I ever saw in my life,'' said Margaret Parker, 86, who has known Mowbray about 40 years.
The two friends see each other about four mornings a week at the restaurant. Parker usually brings other friends as well.
``We'll sit here till 12 o'clock,'' she whispered, ``and if it's not busy, we'll just sit here and talk.''
Mowbray knows about having that kind of time.
The retired beautician started working at Hardee's at age 77 for one simple reason: She was bored.
She hadn't planned to look for a job. But one day, returning home from a doctor's appointment, she decided to stop at the fast-food restaurant for a bite to eat.
Noticing how busy the restaurant was, her first impulse was to offer to help. Instead, she asked for a job.
The manager hired her on the spot as a door greeter, and she left with a uniform.
For the first year and a half, Mowbray's only job was to stand at the door to greet customers as they entered and to say goodbye when they left.
``What we did was we hired people about five or six years ago trying to enhance our image at the door,'' said district manager Gene Dickens.
Eventually, Mowbray went from opening doors to doting on customers.
``Whenever I'd see something that needed to be done, I'd do it,'' said Mowbray, the sixth of eight children who grew up on a tobacco farm in Charlotte County, Va.
Mowbray also has taken it upon herself to cater to disabled customers.
``If someone comes in who walks with a cane or a walker and there's a line up at the cash register, I will take their order and fill it and take their food back to them,'' she said.
Mowbray's reputation for kindness has even traveled up and down the East Coast.
``I have this lady who comes from somewhere in New England on her way to Florida every year,'' said Mowbray.
``And when she comes through, she stops at our restaurant and says, `I always stop here to see if they still have you working.' ''
Last fall, Mowbray considered retiring, but Dickens talked her out of it.
``I had been there five years and I thought that was long enough,'' said Mowbray.
The district manager talked to her three times, trying to change her mind.
``The last time he came by, he said, `We don't want to lose you. You're my public relations person.' ''
He also offered Mowbray a raise.
``That's the reason I'm still here at 82 years old,'' she said.
According to Dickens, Mowbray's presence has a positive impact on business.
``Undoubtedly,'' he said. ``I can't underestimate her. She was ill for about three or four weeks one time, and everybody missed her. I'd come in and you could just tell she wasn't here.''
What impresses Dickens the most about Mowbray is the way she takes that extra step to make her customers feel welcome.
``At Christmas, she puts on Christmas bells and she hands out Christmas candy,'' he said.
``And on all special occasions, she dresses up and creates the seasonal atmosphere of the place. Those types of things go a long way with these people.''
Merrimac Point neighbors Jingles Phemister and Mabel Hudgins began eating breakfast at Hardee's on a regular basis soon after they were widowed in 1992.
``We walked in Hardee's and we met Sarah and right away, I'm telling you, we thought there was nothing like her,'' said Phemister, 85, who socializes at least five mornings a week at the Churchland eatery.
``We leave home every morning at quarter to eight unless something comes up,'' she said.
Because Phemister was so impressed with Mowbray's dedication to her customers, she wrote a letter praising her to the restaurant's corporate headquarters in Rocky Mount, N.C.
``I just wrote and told them how much I thought of her, that she was so easy going,'' said Phemister.
``I can't picture her mad, and I know every day something comes up at that place to make her mad, but she never shows it. She's just a lovely person. And they're few and far between.''
Bob Wilkerson, another Hardee's regular, once repaired a fishing rod for Mowbray, who later used it to catch more than 20 fish while vacationing in Nags Head. The next time Wilkerson saw Mowbray, she had a surprise for him.
``She had a box for me and inside was the most beautiful pecan pie that was some kind of good,'' he said, smiling at the memory.
It's those kind of friendships that keep Mowbray going to work every day.
Mowbray doesn't need the extra income, she said. But working there has given her a ``different outlook on life.''
``I didn't realize how kind and considerate people could be until I went to work at Hardee's.''
Besides, it's keeping her young too.
``I think I was developing arthritis in my joints, and with all this walking, do you know it has all gone away?'' she said.
``It has completely cured my arthritis.'' ILLUSTRATION: COFFEE AND CODDLING
[Color Photo]
ON THE COVER
Photographer L. Todd Spencer took the photo of Sarah Mowbray that
appears on the cover.
Photos by L. TODD SPENCER
Regulars Indie Bunting, center, and Mabel Hudgins, right, share a
hearty laugh with Sarah Mowbray, who keeps their coffee hot and
their spirits warm. Hudgins and neighbor Jingles Phemister, not
shown, come for breakfast about five times a week. ``We walked in
Hardee's and we met Sarah, and right away, I'm telling you, we
thought there was nothing like her,'' said Phemister, 85.
``My one thought is to give everybody who comes in the nicest dining
experience that they can get in a fast-food restaurant,'' says
Mowbray. District manager Gene Dickens says her very presence has a
positive impact on business.
Mowbray's age doesn't slow her down as she makes the rounds with the
coffee pot. As a matter of fact, the 82-year-old hostess, who has
been on the job for 5 1/2 years, says the exercise has healed her
arthritis.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB