This March OAP is offering a special to all our folks in the food industry. We love this special because so many of us have a background in food service. We know the toll it can take: the aches and pains, weird sleep patterns, emotional fatigue, and bad eating habits that often come with the job. I started in the industry when I was a teenager, hosting and taking to-go orders. I never stopped waiting tables, even now you might catch me moonlighting at your favorite gastropub on College Ave. I have also been a barista/baker at a small cafe, sold organic produce at the farmer’s markets, and even did a brief stint at a sheep farmstead where twice a week I used salt water to scrub the mold off the cheese wheels while they aged (yea, there’s a reason artisanal cheeses aren’t cheap!).
A lot of the skills I picked up over the years really come in handy while working at OAP. The two most important are probably time management and the ability to keep my cool (or at least the pretense of it) when I feel like my shirt might actually be on fire. Interacting with so many people I feel like I have learned a bit about this whole being human thing and have really come to appreciate the power of a friendly smile and welcoming words. Everyone walks around with their joys, stresses, good days and bad. I always try to remember that most people just want to feel welcome. Whether I am serving them a drink, bagging their groceries or sticking them with needles, my goal is to make them feel like they are exactly where they are supposed to be. So come in and let us serve up a custom mix of needles for what ails you.