05-02-2025
82-year-old Wichitan brings in smiles working as a barback
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Bronx Pizza and Pints opened 2 years ago in west Wichita. Not long after opening, they gained an employee that would turn work into a home.
'I'd just come in, and I'd eat or something, and one day, there was tables out there that needed bussed,' Judy Goetzinger said. 'So I just asked Lindy, 'Can I go bus tables?' And she said, 'Well, I guess!' She said, 'Would you be interested in a part-time job?' I said, 'Well, yeah.'
Goetzinger is 82 and works at the restaurant bussing tables, cleaning dishes and engaging with customers.
'I enjoy it,' Goetzinger said. 'I enjoy visiting with the people. They make me happy. The kids come in. I like to watch them for their first piece of pizza. We show them how to fold it and eat it instead of cutting it up. I go around and visit with them. Ask them how the pizza is.'
'She brings a lot of people in,' General Manager Paul Guitierrez said. 'People come in to see her quite a bit. I tell her this all the time. I wish I had more staff that showed up and worked as hard as she does at her age. It's unbelievable to watch her work.'
She has built relationships with both the customers and her coworkers.
'I laugh with them, I cry with them, I pray for them. You get to know them. I didn't used to be a talker, but it just feels like family here, ya know? It makes me feel good to see a smile on their face when they leave,' Goetzinger said.
'Miss Judy is somebody you can talk to any time you're here,' said Guitierrez. 'Our staff, they, like any other job, we have a lot of staff that goes through certain personal issues and stuff like that, and I constantly see them turning to Miss Judy to say 'Hey!' And I think it's that experience that she's had through life.'
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Most people she sees at work call her mom.
'I'm old enough to be their moms, so I enjoy all of them,' Goetzinger said. 'It's family. You work together for so long, so many hours a day it just becomes natural. You care for them when they hurt and when they're sad. It makes me feel good. I'm not just sitting at home loafing. It gives me something to do.'
'This place is really warm when she's here. It's inviting. She's just amazing to work with. I'm fortunate to have her working with us,' said Guitierrez.
People come in expecting to see Goetzinger and asking for her.
'Judy is amazing,' employee Angela Purviance said. 'Everybody here loves her. They come in sometimes just to see Judy, I think.'
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