Holiday means labor for some

Greg Risling

BALBOA ISLAND -- While millions of people were celebrating a holiday set

aside for working people, most small-business owners kept their doors

open.

Those who are in the service industry or operate a small store take very

few holidays. And because Balboa Island is home to many mom-and-pop

stores and restaurants, Labor Day was no different.

For them, Monday was just the start of another week.

The three-day weekend signals the end of summer and the beginning of

school. And it is the last hurrah for shops before foot traffic tails off

dramatically.

But this weekend didn’t have much activity. It may have been the cloudy

skies that dominated most of the weekend or the reopening of the

shoreline in Huntington Beach.

Over at the Sandpiper, a gift and stationary store, owners Betty Gilbert

and Sherry Kerns planned to close early Monday around 3 or 4 p.m. Gilbert

said the weekend paled in comparison to previous years. She estimated 40

to 50 people had come through her store Monday, nearly half of what she

usually gets on Labor Day.

She doesn’t fret. It’s part of the business. One customer listening to

the interview tells Gilbert on the way out, “We’re glad you were here.”

But Gilbert knows where she’d rather be. “I’d take off my shoes, get

myself a drink and sit on my front porch and read a magazine,” she said.

“I wouldn’t want to travel on a day like this.”

Across the street at the Gift Box, Janey Hall is reading the latest

edition of the Balboa Beacon. She, too, said business was slow, but that

didn’t deter her from coming to work. She usually works Monday through

Wednesday, so naturally she had to work Labor Day. She figured it was

better than what she had done the previous two days.

“I was cleaning out some stuff this weekend at my home,” Hall said. “I’m

very happy to come to work.”

Sheri Drewry has worked for her mom at Wilma’s Patio, a popular

restaurant, since she was 10.

There were about 20 employees, all of whom were willing to work on Labor

Day, trying to pick up some extra cash. Business was brisk at the

restaurant but didn’t compare to last year’s figures.

“In the service industry, you work when everyone else plays,” Drewry

said. “I’ve never had a real holiday, but I don’t mind. The big payoff is

having a good day and seeing people happy. That’s what working on holiday

is all about.”