Late Night at the Wagon: Step 106

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One of the great things about working at the Pizza Wagon was how late it stayed open on Saturday night. Apparently, Mr. P realized by staying open later than most pizza places around town he could attract a huge crowd of patrons looking for a late snack or early breakfast after the bars closed at 2:00 AM. As far as I know, exept for a few diners, we were the only restaurant at the time to stay open until 3:00 AM.

Most often if someone had to work to the end of the night he wouldn't start until after the dinner hour was done, because if the employee worked from opening to closing he was entitled to a meal and Mr. P did not like providing free food. So, most Saturday nights when I was going to close I would get to work around 7:00 or 8:00 at night.

Usually things would slow down right after dinner so it was a good time to make sure there was enough cheese and pepperoni sliced and enough cabbage sliced and chopped for slaw. If there was a shortage of mayonnaise for making cole slaw or mushrooms were needed up front a busboy would haul one of the huge jars out of the storage room. The size of these jars was measured in gallons rather than ounces.

Next, we would makes sure the coffee maker was brewing properly and changed filters, if necessary. Someone with more technical skill handled the high-pressure hoses and syrup for the soda dispensers. Finall, we would check in with the hostesses and waitresses to make sure everything was ready for the evening.

We had extra quarters for the jukebox if in a rare instance some patron wasn't filling the thing up to play a string of songs. While the Beatles, Elvis and the Rolling Stones had their fair share of plays, the favorites around the Wagon were inevitably the Lovin' Spoonful and the Mamas and the Papas. Among their tunes the most popular were effervescent John Sebastian spooning out lyrics about Nashville Cats and Mama Cass Elliot belting the urgent need to be Dancing in the Streets.

While most of the tavern crowd that sauntered in after the bars closed were quite well behaved and usually had ravenous appetites, Hector stepped away from the backdoor and into the restaurant occasionally to make his presence felt. Despite his youth he was a commanding presence. Of course, since taversn were closed and we were one of the few establishments operating it was not unusual for a couple of police officers to stop in for coffee.

As closing time approached Mrs.P would count the day's receipts while Marilyn helped the last customeers find the door. Then, it was clean up, put everything away and make dough for the next day. By the time we finished we usually lef the premises around 4:30 in the morning.

With football season over it was time for AZA chapter basketball at the Jewish Community Center on Sunday mornings. Sometimes Steve P would drive, but after and evening of deliveries and only three or four hours of sleep he was more than willing to let Pidge or Joel drive. We were small, not very quick, overly tired, and if anyone had a good shot it was seldom taken. But we had a good time.

Marquette University was developing a fairly talented basketball program under Coach Al McGuire. The Burke brothers, who played for McGuire at that time, would referee our games, give us tips, and tell us wonderful stories.

Another thing I liked was ordering breakfast after the game at the counter in the basement of the JCC. A rather attractive girl who was in my class at Marshall, but wasn't Jewish, worked as a waitress there. Along with my eggs and toast Chris would make my favorite drink, a root beer malt. The unusual taste still lingers on my tongue.