Kennedy says goodbye to restaurant job after 30 plus years
The McDonald’s at the Greater Butler Mart has gone through many changes in 30 years, including a complete remodel in summer 2023, but one thing that has remained consistent since 1993 is Martha Kennedy.
Kennedy, 73, said she has been taking orders long enough and it’s her time to step aside to enjoy life outside the golden arches.
“I'm going to miss the customers and my kids,” Kennedy said. “It’s going to be very hard, but it’s time to go. I’m just tired. If I could sit in that chair all day I would, but that's not the work. You have to get up and do stuff, especially if you’re short staffed.”
Kennedy has been a fixture in the community for a long time, store supervisor Jeff Stewart said. She will officially “hang up her spatula” on June 15.
“Martha has been a great ambassador for the brand of the restaurant,” Stewart said. “She has a high energy level. I honestly don't know how we are going to fill her shoes.”
Kennedy began her career at McDonald’s when she and her husband found themselves struggling to pay the bills with two kids at home.
“I just couldn't get ahead,” Kennedy said. “I would save money, then something big would take it all. I said to my husband, ‘I need a part-time job.’ Back then, McDonald’s advertised to mothers saying ‘Come to work when the kids go to school and then get home.’”
Her primary role at the restaurant has been working the “back booth,” or the first drive-through window, where customers pay for their meals.
The odds are if someone has placed an order at the Greater Butler Mart McDonald’s drive-through in the past 30 years, it was Kennedy who took the order. Now in recent years, she has been taking orders from a second generation of customers.
“I just had a customer today who said he was just a little boy when he came in back in the day,” she said. “Now he's married and has kids.”
Stewart said Kennedy’s work ethic is example for her fellow crew mates.
That natural work ethic would show up, even on her day off.
“When I'd come in to eat on my day off, if I saw someone up at the counter waiting I'd go up and take their order,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said her all-time favorite McDonald’s menu item was the grilled chicken sandwich; however, that item has been discontinued.
During her retirement, Kennedy said she has plans to fix up her house, but she does have some recreation ideas in mind.
“I do like to gamble,” Kennedy said. “I’m cheap though. My husband said maybe once a month he will take me down to the Meadows Casino.”
Kennedy said she is thankful for her time at McDonald’s and the people she has met. It hasn’t always been easy she explained, but that comes with every job out there.
“Life is not sugar and sweet from the day you're born to the day you die,” Kennedy said. “You have ups and down. There are times I could have left this place. Work is not perfect every day, so get used to it. Get an occupation you’ll love and stick with it.”
