LIHUE – Guest checks come and go — orders, too — in Donna Takeuchi’s section at Cafe Portofino. Even as the credit card receipts rotate in and out, there are three important things that stay in Donna Takeuchi’s server book:
LIHUE – Guest checks come and go — orders, too — in Donna Takeuchi’s section at Cafe Portofino.
Even as the credit card receipts rotate in and out, there are three important things that stay in Donna Takeuchi’s server book: Two are photos, one of her 11-year-old daughter and one is of her 14-year-old son.
“I keep them in my waiter book as a reminder how thankful you should be for motherhood,” she said.
A third item she carries in the black book is a card with a quote from Maya Angelou.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” it reads.
It’s a reminder of how the 26-year server strives to live every day, especially during those stressful days when the waterfront cafe is slammed with tourists, locals and live musicians.
“I think I have aloha,” she said. “I try. I don’t know if I could do a 9 to 5 job.”
Funny, since the Florida transplant never envisioned herself in anything but a regular day job.
“I never thought I’d work in the restaurant business,” she said. “I always thought I’d do something like math or accounting, something in an office because I’m good at filing.”
But what a ride the restaurant business has been. She worked six years at The Beach House, and 18 years at Roy’s in Poipu before making the move to Kalapaki.
It started when Takeuchi needed to earn a living while attending Kauai Community College in the late ‘80s. After she earned her associate of arts degree and continued after, the next thing she knew she was years into the biz mixing margaritas for stars like Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, John Travolta, Kelly Preston and Rob Schneider.
“Two days before I delivered my son I was still mixing drinks,” Takeuchi recalled. “I took a lot of pride in what I did, whether it was detailing sugar bowls or chilling a martini glass. If I’m going to do something, I do it well.”
But there were lean times, too, when she had to look to service programs for food stamps.
“It was a humbling time,” she said. “But struggling makes you stronger. You find out who is there for you.”
And there are the other pitfalls that come with the job — regardless of years of experience. That horrible restaurant sound of crashing plates? That recently happened to Takeuchi. She burned with embarrassment just like the first time.
“All I could do was keep working,” she said. “What else can you do? You have to keep your sense of humor and laugh at yourself. I’m just trying my best.”
But in the end, Takeuchi considers her serving job fun and easy. People compliment her smile. You don’t do something you love for two and half decades without smiling. The one drawback? She works evenings, meaning she misses her favorite time of the day. But still.
“It’s when I get the chance to go outside and watch that sunset I miss out on when I’m working nights,” Takeuchi said. “I try not to take living here for granted when I see others at the restaurant where I serve people who have saved up for years just to take a one-week vacation here.”
This is a ongoing weekly feature in The Garden Island. It focuses on everyday people who reflect the spirit that makes Kauai the place it is today. If you know of somebody you’d like to see featured, email features and education reporter Lisa Ann Capozzi at lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com.
