Both locals and those who drive through Greenbrier on their way to the Buffalo River and other destinations in north Arkansas might be acquainted with Ropers Restaurant, the kitschy, country hub that serves up steak, burgers and pizza.
Head server Candace Gifford, who will have worked at the restaurant 16 years in August, is almost as much of a fixture as the restaurant itself.
“The people I work for are amazing,” she said. “They’re so good to me. It’s so convenient for my family.”
A mother of two, Gifford applied for a position at the restaurant shortly after her son was born and was hired on the spot. Aside from a teenage gig at a local Italian restaurant, the bulk of her serving experience has been at Ropers.
“My job is, when I get there in the morning, to make sure the front of the house is open and ready for the day, we have everything we need, and everything runs smoothly up front,” she said.
She added that working in food service has taught her many things, such as communication skills, how to count money, how to prioritize tasks, how to clean, and patience. Some days are busier and some days are slower, she added.
“You will never be able to please everyone, but just keep smiling,” she said.
She recommends the steak or the daily special to new customers, but her personal favorite is the turkey sub with onion and a side of honey mustard. Good food, good service and good conversation keeps people coming back for more, she added.
“There’s some people that come in twice a day,” she said. “I mean, they eat lunch, they eat dinner, but I have so many regulars there, they have just turned into family for me.”
In fact, she goes out to lunch with a group of regulars at least once a month on her days off, she said.
She added that her proudest accomplishment as a server is buying her first home for herself and her son, thanks to Ropers.
“Making tips, it’s really hard to make a big purchase because we don’t report all of our cash, and we only report our credit card tips,” she said. “My owner, he did everything he could to help me keep track of all the money I was making and any extra paperwork he needed to fill out just so I was able to do that.”
When her son, now 16, became old enough to work, he took a job at Ropers, working side by side with his mother.
“I’m not his mom at work,” she said, adding that he recently left the restaurant. “You know, he’s just a normal employee, but it was good. He worked good. He was a hard worker and he was excelling at his job.”
One of the most challenging times in her career, as for many servers, was the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was definitely an experience,” she said. “We were so blessed that the owners never made us shut down. All the employees were able to continue working every single day.”
Although public seating was not available, Ropers offered drive-thru service and provided deliveries to locals so that fans could continue getting some of their favorite grub.
“I’ve lived in Greenbrier my whole life,” Gifford said. “It’s a great community. I’m a huge people person, and so all of the people that I see almost every day, they have just become so close to me.”
