Long-time Gallery waitress moves on

Kari Shehan showed up for work as a dishwasher at The Gallery Restaurant back in 1979. It was her first job.

“(Then) in the early ’80s I started waitressing here and I’ve been here ever since,” she said.

Now, on Friday, January 20, Shehan will celebrate her last day at the venerable Sisters eatery with colleagues, customers and friends.

“I’m just ready to take a little break and make some changes in my life,” Shehan told The Nugget. “I want to do something completely different.”

That’s understandable after holding down a waitressing gig for 25 years. What made her stay so long?

“I like it here,” she said. “It’s a great place to work. (Owners) Jim and Carrie (Cheatham) and (manager) Gretchen (Stroup) have been very good to me over the years. It’s become like a family.”

While Shehan wants to tackle new challenges, she won’t be leaving Sisters.

For her part, Stroup is sorry to see Shehan go, but at the same time she wishes her the very best in pursuing new activities.

Stroup noted that Shehan trained her when she first came to The Gallery at age 12. She said that Shehan has a tremendous work ethic and took waitressing seriously as a career.

“She’s good at what she does,” Stroup said. “She made a profession of it. People like that aren’t replaceable, really.”

Stroup said she’s still got a wonderful staff, many of whom are long-term employees like Shehan.

Shehan says that she’s “met a lot of nice people and made a lot of good friends. I’ll miss them.”

The feeling is mutual.

“We’re going to miss her a lot,” Stroup said. “She’ll still be in the Sisters area and hopefully we’ll see her smiling face often.”

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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