Nikki Manesco was chosen by owners Seth and Melissa Clark to represent Blue Valley Bistro for National Restaurant Hospitality Month. ALIYA HALL/THE CHRONICLE
CRESWELL – Nikki Manesco describes herself as an open book, and is willing to help anyone who comes to her with a question.
Manesco, who has been working with Blue Valley Bistro for two years as a barista, is being honored by her boss, Blue Valley Bistro Owners Seth Clark and Melissa Clark, as an exemplary employee, in honor of National Restaurant Hospitality Month.
”Here’s the thing about Nikki,” Clark said: ”She is the most supportive, stable and consistent employee. She is truly caring of those around her, and without a doubt has your back. She wants to help and appreciates being needed. She makes being a boss super easy.”
Before working at Blue Valley Bistro, Manesco was working at Espresso 58 in Pleasant Hill, which Blue Valley Bistro now owns. She said she was working for the original owner, Suzanne Nordquist – who left to make the soups at the bistro. After the change in management, Manesco wanted to look for new opportunities.
”I thought I’d try a change of scenery,” Manesco said. ”I applied here because Seth and Melissa knew me through (Suzanne Nordquist).”
As a barista, Manesco makes the coffee and cooks orders, as well as taking orders from customers. However, with the new location opening up in Coburg, she is preparing to act as shift lead.
”I’ll place orders and help out on the floor and doing the other stuff I already do,” she explained, adding that she’s excited for this opportunity – especially because the location is five minutes from her house.
During her two years of working at the Bistro, Manesco said that she has had to overcome some learning curves. She said she hadn’t worked in ”a real food-service place before,” and all her experience had been in drive-thru coffee as well as an array of other restaurant jobs.
”But actually having to put everything together and make it a real sit-down place, that’s been hard to learn,” she said. ”But now I’m comfortable with it, which is good.”
She said that it’s been rewarding for her to build relationships with people in the community, and at this point, she said she knows 75% of the customers who come in. She added that beyond supporting the community, it’s the pride she takes in her work that sticks with her.
”I really like the science behind making coffee,” she said. ”It’s something I didn’t really know about when I first started, but now I have more knowledge and it’s afforded me the opportunity to perfect the craft. It’s really nice and really rewarding to make a good cup of coffee and know that I’m keeping my customers satisfied.”
When she got the call about this piece, Manesco said that she was taken by surprise and had even double-checked with Clark that it was real.
”It’s honestly … I’m feeling pretty honored,” she said. ”I didn’t really expect it, but I appreciate the fact that enough people think I am a hospitable person and welcoming; that’s nice. I really try to be forward in how I communicate with the customers and make sure they are satisfied and happy in general in life.”
