After a summer-long break from the packed hallways of WJ, relearning to wade through a sea of students to get around the school’s campus can have a steep learning curve. This difficulty is common in nearby Georgetown Square and Wildwood Shopping Center during lunch, where every day hundreds of students file into seemingly endless lines in search of sandwiches, pizza slices, burrito bowls and more.
Navigating through the lunch crowd can be challenging for any student, but what about the workers tasked with serving that crowd? How are workers of G Square and Wildwood affected by the start of the school year? What’s it like on the other side of the counter?
For John Hinojosa, an employee at popular Flippin’ Pizza, the pressure of lunchtime at WJ is nothing unfamiliar. With four years of experience serving students in the most densely congested area of G Square, he’s in tune with the regular concerns and challenges of the job.
“You just have to be very good at multitasking, but if you’re good at multitasking and you’re organized, it’s an easy job,” Hinojosa said.
Before the start of the school year, intensive preparation is necessary for many restaurants in G Square to keep up with the influx of orders from students. For Flippin’ Pizza workers like John, this means carefully calculating how many ingredients and hands they’ll need for supply to meet demand.
“Usually we make about 12 pizzas in the morning, but we have to make about 30 for you guys, and sometimes we don’t have enough,” Hinojosa said.
In order to combat student crowding and its effects, WJ recently instituted the Pay and Go policy, preventing students from staying outside of the building longer than they have to. According to John, this policy has eased major concerns among G Square employees.
“Compared to the years before, this is one of the best years so far,” Hinojosa said. “Sometimes we’d see people fighting outside, [now] everybody just gets their food and goes back to school.”
However, back-to-school preparation can differ significantly for employees just a short walk away from Flippin’ Pizza. For two-year Sarah’s Homemade Ice Cream employee Ellie Ayanyan, a senior at WJ, the back-to-school season actually brings a decrease in stress.
“There’s always a line out the door every day over the summer, but during the school year it gets better,” Ayanyan said. “Sometimes it’s stressful when It’s really busy, but other than that it’s just a really fun job.”
Based on her perspective as both a student and employee, Ayanyan has a significantly different opinion on the Pay and Go system.
“I think they’re doing ok, but the Pay and Go system is not fully working,” Ayanyan said. “People still find a way to stay in places because there isn’t enough enforcement. With other places like Chipotle there have been problems.”
Although a slight difference in location has given them dramatically different perspectives, both parties seem optimistic about the new school year and welcome any new student customers.
“My high school didn’t have open lunch, they gave you frozen food,” Hinojosa said. “Come enjoy the hot pizza, it’s homemade.”
