VERO BEACH — From the time she walked into The Lemon Tree restaurant as a teenager until now, Lisa Copeland never missed a day of work. She never called in sick. During that time, Copeland estimates, she’s worked six days a week for nearly 31 years.
On a daily basis, she guesses that she’s served about 80 meals. That means when she retires Thursday, she’ll have served nearly 750,000 meals for the seven owners she’s worked for while at the restaurant.
Copeland isn’t one to talk about herself. Her answers to questions simple, direct. She expresses surprise at the number of meals she likely served over the years.
Her boss, Paul Castraberti who’s owned The Lemon Tree for seven years, is just the opposite.
He has no problem praising Copeland.
“I’ve never seen an employee as dedicated as she is,” he says. “She treats the restaurant like it’s her own. We call her ‘Grande.’
“She’s an amazing employee,” says Castraberti. “For me, there’s never been a better employee. She runs the place.”
Copeland says the time is right for her to stay home.
“My children are grown,” she says. “I put my son through college (University of Florida). It’s time to enjoy my children and my grandchildren.”
She started at The Lemon Tree as a 17-year-old and for her there was no real thought about moving on from there.
“I like stability. I like things to stay the same.”
Copeland says she would get to work about 7 a.m. in her early days at the restaurant which closed at 2:30 then. She’d finish up between 3 and 3:30. Many nights, she worked catering jobs.
At the time she started, The Lemon Tree featured a small counter bar and was known for its homemade peanut butter pie.
As for serving all those meals, Copeland says she’s had her restaurant regulars but she won’t single anyone out.
“I don’t want to name one specifically because there are so many.”
“Unfortunately, because we have older customers, you see them grow old and pass away,” she adds. “I’ve lost a lot of customers over the years.”
The restaurant business has changed too, she notes, because more people are vegetarians and more customers want to know what their food contains.
“Not only do you have to know your menu, but you have to know the ingredients too because people want to know,” she says.
Born in a small town west of Toledo, Ohio, Copeland moved here in 1976 and met her husband, Bo, on the beach. They’ve been together 32 years and live on a large lot west of Vero.
“We’re out by Wal-Mart,” she says. She and her husband have lived there for 28 years.
“I’m going to garden,” she says. “Our yard is like a huge garden. We have hundreds of palm trees and orchids. It’s a full-time job. I’m just going on to a new career.”
She also plans to spend more time with her two grandsons, ages 2 and 4. She currently takes the boys one night a weekend and loves exploring the yard with them.
“Everything is new and exciting to them,” she says. “We hunt for snakes and they’re thrilled.”
Still, Thursday was her last day at The Lemon Tree and at some point during the day she delivered her last plate of bacon and eggs, her last omelet or her last tuna fish sandwich.
From there, it’s onto the garden.
Castraberti says Copeland will be missed because she does so much around the restaurant.
“My new girls, they’ve only been here 20 years, will step up.”
“She’s a jewel,” he says, a jewel with nearly three-quarters of a million meals delivered to The Lemon Tree’s booths.