Customers step up to help lone restaurant employee working a busy shift

A Waffle House restaurant.
(Image credit: Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)

When Ethan Crispo walked into a Waffle House in Birmingham, Alabama, earlier this month and found just one man working, he was ready to turn around and look for a midnight snack elsewhere.

There were about 30 customers that night, Crispo said, and just one man — an employee named Ben — cooking, serving, and acting as cashier. Before he could leave, Crispo saw a diner stand up, walk behind the counter, and grab an apron. He started washing dishes, and was soon joined by another customer, who grabbed a coffee pot and started to fill up cups around the restaurant. "It was a smooth transition," Crispo told CNN.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.