Canyon Girl
Canyon Pizza has the reputation as the late night drunk spot for college kids after a night out. For Julia Hine, it’s the place of her employment. The Penn State junior first started working there in fall 2017.
“I walked in one day and they asked if I was looking for a job,” Hine said. “I told them I was and they asked me to come back a couple hours later for an interview and I got the job that day.”
Hine is a counter girl at Canyon Pizza where she deals with customers. When not serving pizza and breadsticks, she makes sure the counters are clean and folds boxes. She wishes more people understood that if they buy pizza and stay, don’t ask for a box.
Julia Hine on the job during the "drunk shift" at Canyon Pizza. Photo shot by Brad Wakai“The boxes are a pain in the ass to fold up so it’s annoying when people use them when they could just use our plates,” she said.
Hine works the night shift or what is commonly known as “The Drunk Shift.” This shift is normally from 9 pm to 4 am. Hine looks at the bright side and uses the shift as her time to people watch. While the obnoxious drunk people definitely get on her nerves, she enjoys interacting with the jolly drunks that stop by for their late-night slice.
There are always legendary drunk college student stories and Hine has plenty of them.
“I wasn’t working this time, but one night a girl peed in the corner of the store. I guess her friends told her what she did because the next day I was there and she apologized,” Hine said.
With all the drunk students raiding the lobby after their night at the bars, Canyon Pizza gets messy. The favorite targets are the ranch and marinara sauce dispensers, which get destroyed nightly. The other night somebody stole the red pepper shaker, disregarding the chain attaching it to the counter.
A staple of Canyon Pizza is the Tip Gong. When a customer gives the front worker a tip, they grab a mallet and hit the gong. This usually fills the store with applause from the line of customers.
“Oh, I love ringing the gong,” Hine laughed. “Not only does it get the crowd going but I usually get a lot more tips because of it.”
Video: Ice Cream Couple
While Hine says she enjoys the people watching she does while on the job, she knows it’s not something she can handle for much longer.
“Honestly, I love my coworkers. If it wasn’t for them I don’t think I would have lasted this long on the job, but I love working with them, so it’s fun,” Hine said.
