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A couple locals are now ‘restaurant legends’ after giving local, diligent service to local eateries.
Ground Pati employees Regina Falgoust and Laurie Ward join Wilburn and Cat Enterprises (McDonald’s) workers Cathy Aucoin, Carol Bourgeois, Jason Lambert, Charlene Madison, Bernardine Morgan, Cynthia Prince and Carlo Streva as honored local legends – an honor given to restaurant employees who have shown long-term dedication to the industry with 20 or more years of service at one establishment.
The locals were honored at the Louisiana Restaurant Association’s Bayou Chapter Restaurant Legends Banquet on Jan. 12 at Fremin’s in Thibodaux.
There were nine out of 17 total workers who were honored – a group that combined has almost 500 years of total experience and service at eateries throughout Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Mary and St. Charles parishes.
“Many times, when a restaurant is successful, it’s the owner that gets all the credit and the accolades,” Ground Pati owner and LRA Bayou Chapter Vice President Linda Ayers said. “In reality, however, it is employees like the ones we honor with this award that make it all possible.”
The locals honored are 17 out of 150 in Louisiana who share the same distinction.
The LRA has many chapters throughout Louisiana and each has its own annual banquet each year to show appreciation for its legends – the folks that the LRA said make the restaurant business able to thrive through future generations.
Ayers said that Falgoust is a server for Ground Pati who has more than 26 years experience with the business, which is located at 101 Bayou Gardens Boulevard in Houma – directly across the street from Southland Mall.
Ayers said Falgoust has been successful because she’s been able to charm customers and make them feel at home at the local eatery, which is open seven days a week – from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
While Falgoust has made a career on providing quality customer care as a server, Ward’s been able to lend her talents to the kitchen.
Ayers said that Ward is one of Ground Pati’s most trusted kitchen employees – a worker that the restaurant owner said is partially responsible for all of Ground Pati’s delicious treats on its menu.
“These two employees have been special to our business,” Ayers said. “Their contributions have been so appreciated.”
At Wilburn and Cat Enterprises, the company that owns the McDonald’s franchises in Morgan City and Thibodaux, a variety of workers have also lent a hand toward the business’s success.
Aucoin has been a swing manager who has worked with the company for three decades. Madison, too, has more than 30 years, having been with the company for 34 years as a general manager.
Bourgeois is a 25-year supervisor and Lambert is a 27-year director.
Morgan is an accountant and office manager for the company, who has put in 26 years of service.
Prince and Streva are both department managers with 29 and 24 years experience, respectively. •
