Chronicles of E-burg
Ms. Carol’s Denny’s Nite Club
Walter J. Zalis
July 22, 2005

If you’re from Eldersburg, you probably know her. Or at least know of her. Sure, you may not know or remember her name, but chances are she has dealt with you before. She has reddish short hair, bluish eyes and a lot of patience. She is Carol Bandell, the graveyard shift waitress of your Elders-town Denny’s.

You’re probably starting to get that mental image of her now. You probably didn’t know her last name, and perhaps not even her first. Many just know her as Ms. Carol, and for over four years, she has worked at Denny’s occasionally during the day, but most often in the middle of the night to the waking hours of the morning.

It certainly doesn’t seem like the most attractive shift. Why deal with drunken teenagers and college students at 3am? Well, Ms. Carol likes the night crowd, “Night people are funny. They’re more laid back than day time customers,” she says.

She also appreciates her co-workers at night. She made sure to mention, “We’re like a family on the graveyard shift. If anyone gets into any trouble, we’re always there to help them out.” Ms. Carol admits to not “working well with others,” but says the 3rd shift is the only place she enjoys the company of her fellow employees.

So why write about Ms. Carol and the Eldersburg Denny’s? It’s simple if you’ve been there. Things happen there that most Eldersburgians would be shocked to hear about. Many events that occur there don’t seem to fit the profile Elderstown tries to keep up. But what kind of customer do you think Denny’s at 3am attracts? You guessed right (I hope)- all the inebriated teenagers and college students as well as bartenders and bar flies in this part of Carroll County. The next closest 24-hour shops are in Westminster and Reisterstown, and they’re also both Denny’s. So most of the South Carroll, Sykesville, Eldersburg, Gamber, etc. and etc. areas come on in to the E-town version of the diner.

If Denny’s is indeed the nite club in town, then Ms. Carol is the owner, DJ, and bouncer of the establishment. While they don’t serve any, alcohol is noticeably the theme of numerous regulars that come to visit Ms. Carol. In fact, before the graveyard crew began cutting down on rowdy customers, smashed (or bored) high schoolers would line up and down the aisle ways, socializing and sometimes vandalizing the restaurant simply because it was the only joint open in the middle of the night (Alcohol + Socializing= Nite Club). And it wasn’t just kids loitering that caused problems- listen to these stories from Ms. Carol herself about what has happened under this sweet little communities nose.

- One of the busiest nights of the year is the evening before Thanksgiving. Family comes into town, college students are home for the break, and everyone wants to celebrate together because of that Thursday they now have off. A few years ago, a large group of bartenders who just got off a long night of work came into an already packed Denny’s the night before Thanksgiving. Ms. Carol was all alone and dealing with wall-to-wall patrons, but didn’t expect the situation that was occurring in the women’s bathroom handicap stall. Lets just say, a woman… and a man… were taking full advantage of the extra space the stall had to offer. The male came in the next week and apologized.

- Dealing with intoxicated kids is a past time for Ms. Carol as well. She has a frequent visitor in an exceptionally large young man who orders a “Grand All-American Slam,” a combination of two meals (that doesn’t really exist). He always gets upset, until finally Ms. Carol figures out what he wants. However, on more than one occasion, this lad has proceeded to start an altercation with someone else in the restaurant, generally across the dining room from him. Not only has he attempted to get into a fight, he has thrown his entire plate of food (which was hard enough to put together in the first place) across the room- hash browns, eggs and bacon all over the place.

- In the past, there used to be some sort of clash every Saturday in the eatery. Fortunately, the struggles have gone down, but one memorable battle occurred between a tiny five-foot-nothing young lady and a larger gentleman. Apparently, he said something rather offensive amongst the 20 people waiting in the lobby at the time, and this little woman attempted to leap off the bench in the waiting area for an aerial assault. Needless to say, everyone was kicked out before the melee could get any worse.

- Wal-mart parking lot may be crazy and dangerous, but the Denny’s lot can be just as bad at 2:30am on a Thursday night. Ms. Carol’s automobile has been backed into before, and no one sticks around for the aftermath of course. While this may annoy the late night waitress, she has gotten more than one laugh from some entertaining customers. Her favorite are the folks who pass out at the dinner table, particularly those who do so in their plate of chow. One teenager fell asleep in his eggs, didn’t wake up for an hour, and even after coming to and seeing his friends had deserted him, went on to eat the breakfast he took a nap in.

Since Ms. Carol’s position gives her so many regular customers over the years, she is sort of a symbol in E-town. Kids grow up through high school and college, all the while stopping by the Eldersburg Denny’s so many nights. Ms. Carol has watched kids go off and get married, get jobs, and slowly bring an end to their late night eating habits. I have been eating there since my high school days, and just last week I was in there again to visit after a night of work. She has seen me go through high school, college and now even further. She is a part of the fabric of the community, in a unique sort of way to say the least. Thanks for dealing with the alcohol-induced idiots of Eldersburg and beyond on a regular basis Ms. Carol (not that I haven’t been one of those alcohol-induced idiots myself- where’s my soup?!?).

Previous Chronicles of E-Burg Columns by Walter Zalis
July 29, 2005 - The Restaurant Customers Guide to Etiquette
July 22, 2005 - Ms. Carol's Denny's Nite Club
July 15, 2005 - Review: The Gyms of E-burg
July 8, 2005 - Eldersburg falls in line with Popular Society
July 1, 2005 - The Challenge of Carrolltown Center
June 23, 2005 - The Streets of E-town: Is there a Drug Problem?
June 17, 2005 - Graduation? Senior Week
June 9, 2005 - Not Your Granny's Town Anymore

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