Breakfast Moms – Melissa
Have you met Melissa?
Melissa is a bubbly, relatable, and all around awesome server from our flagship Sunset Grill on Winston Churchill and Eglinton in Mississauga. She’s been serving up platefuls of delicious breakfast eats for the past 12 years, and she loves every minute of it. “The clanging of the plates – that’s the best sound in the world,” says Melissa. “And when you go to a breakfast restaurant you can hear people drinking their coffee and putting it down, that just wakes me up. I love the sound of it.”
She almost quite literally stumbled into her career with Sunset Grill. “I was coming back from Rona Home & Garden Centre and then I saw in the [Sunset Grill] window: Help Wanted,” she explains. “So, I parked my car right up front, ran in really quickly, one of the other waitresses here, her name is Sue, said ‘you’re hired, come in.’ So, I came in, and that was it, that was the end of it.” And she hasn’t looked back since.
“I love it here. When you’ve been somewhere for so long, people become family. It’s not like they’re customers—and I’m being serious about this—I have them in my phone,” she notes. “My very first customers, I have them in my phone and sometimes I plan my weekends, if I’m going to go away, around [them] like, ‘awe, I can’t go this weekend, they’re going to be coming.’ They’re older people so I don’t want to miss that opportunity to see them.” It’s that personalized service that keep guests coming back. Melissa likens the experience to that of Cheers: “We know everyone’s name, and everyone knows our name,” she quips.
Melissa loves interacting with people, that much is clear. She’s also the kind of mom who thoroughly enjoys spending time with her two kids. “I’ve never gone anywhere without my kids,” she says with pride. “I love them so much.” For Melissa, the most rewarding part about being a mom is watching her children develop and grow. “I say this all the time but… I loved them when they were babies, and I loved them when they were toddlers, and you wouldn’t think I could love them so much but then I loved them when they were going to school because their minds started growing and they were developing into little people,” she says with a smile.
“I love talking to them and being able to see what their thoughts are. Everything, just having conversations. At each stage I don’t know if I can love them any more [than I already do], but then I love them in this stage just as much. It just gets better and better and better.”
She doesn’t think moms want much for Mother’s Day. “I don’t think any mother wants anything – I don’t want anything,” she explains. “I just want to be able to go home, sit down and enjoy my kids not being in front of the Xbox, on the phone; I want [them] to actually spend time with me.” That, and secretly hoping her kids use her new steam mop to clean house.
Sometimes she’s lucky enough to have Monopoly tournaments with her kids and husband, and she enjoys the competition even though she doesn’t always win. It’s the closeness she enjoys most.
Melissa is actually looking forward to working this Mother’s Day. “It’s crazy, but I love it. It’s that vibe, that electricity that you get that if you’re not here you’re like, ‘damn I’m missing out’,” she boasts. “Even when I used to go to the cottage—when I’d take the weekends off—I’d wake up in the morning and text everybody, because you miss it – that feeling, that electricity.” She’s excited to see all the moms come in for Mother’s Day brunch – and every mom who comes in will receive a carnation as a special thank you. “There are girls that come in with their kids and they’re like my sisters – it’s family, I love everyone.”
One day she hopes to take her kids to Greece to visit family and explore their heritage, something that’s always been important to Melissa. “I have a big fat Greek family and I love it,” she says. She’s also particularly excited for the family’s planned summer excursion to Ottawa to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. They normally go up to their cottage in Sherkston for the Canada Day long weekend; however, this year will be a little different. “It’s going to be something so big that we’re going to do together as a family,” she explains. “We want to hit all of the museums – the war museum is my favourite, I want to take my time and not rush through it. We’re going to see the fireworks and I’m hoping if we’re lucky enough we’ll get to meet the Prime Minister, but fat chance.”
You never know, Melissa – anything is possible.
The next time you stop by for breakfast or lunch at our Eglinton & Winston Churchill, Mississauga Sunset Grill, be sure to say hi to Melissa!
STORE INFORMATION
Eglinton Ave. W. & Winston Churchill Blvd.
2901 Eglinton Ave. W.,
Mississauga, ON, L5M 6J3
Monday to Friday 6:30 AM to 3 PM
Saturday & Sunday 7 AM to 3:30 PM
