Kathleen Maloney
Waiter at the Virginia Inn
1937 First Ave, 728-1937.

How long have you waited tables at the Virginia Inn? "Ten years. I'm a lifer. I'm not one of those waiters who's doing something else. This is my business, this and bartending. I love it."

How have you seen Seattle change over the last 10 years? "It's the money. Seattle is different now because there's a lot more money around than there used to be, even after the 'crash.' And people spend money differently. It comes with more strings attached--they want it this way, they want it that way. People are much more demanding."

Are demanding people better tippers? "We've always made a good tip percentage here. We used to be just a beer-and-cigarette place, and you knew you would serve a $3.75 beer and get a 75¢ tip. If you served 300 beers in a night, you made good money. Now your money depends on service--how friendly you are, how fast. And people are very critical. If you're not right on top of things, they'll say, 'Well, there goes her tip.' I've heard people say that! I'm like, 'Well, there goes your service!' I'm going to pay attention to other people that I've got a chance with."

So you guys haven't seen a drop-off in business since the recession started? "We have not. We've got a real regular clientele, and the Terminal Sales Building is right across the street. We do a really nice after-work business, and we've built our lunches up. The biggest difference is that we don't have the big late-night crowd anymore, but that's more about how Belltown has changed. Belltown used to be a party place. Now you have a lot of older, more established people living in Belltown, people who aren't going out partying all night. Now it's pretty quiet after nine o'clock."

Interview by Dan Savage