VAN NUYS : Eatery Project Makes Cents for Fourth-Graders
Helene Hirsch runs a tight ship, according to her employees, all of whom are 10 years old tops. But Hirsch is in no danger of violating child labor laws at her bustling but short-lived restaurant “Seventeen’s Place.”
The pint-size eatery, set up in Room 17 of Erwin Street Elementary School in Van Nuys, was a class project, the culmination of efforts of Hirsch’s fourth-grade class that integrated business and economics into their lessons.
The restaurateurs, dressed in green and white to match the decor of their eatery, served more than 80 people in a three-hour period Thursday, keeping the kids on their toes. Head chef Deosha Ball found her crew especially swamped at the 11:30 a.m. shift, when she had to keep telling her sandwich-makers to “pick it up.”
But more than just a lesson in money management, the restaurant and the rest of the class is Life 101.
The 31 kids earn their living in Room 17 by “doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” explained Hirsch. An “A” on a homework assignment equals $1, while an “F” means you have to dish out a buck to the teacher. Chores around the classroom also are worth a few cents.
The fourth-graders then deposit their hard-earned cash into a checking account at the class bank, and participate in the great American tradition of paying bills for rental of their desks and chairs, electricity and health insurance.
Earlier in the year, student Andrew Lopez found out the hard way what happens when you don’t pay your bills: his desk and chair were repossessed by the teacher until he earned enough money to pay off his debts.
“I had to sit on the floor,” he recalled.
For the restaurant project, Hirsch hired each of her students by having them apply for the jobs at the restaurant: chefs, waiters and waitresses, hosts and hostesses, bus people and cashiers.
Tiffany Zamora, a cashier at Seventeen’s Place, said the interview process was grueling: “We had to show her that we were really going to impress her.”
The kids learned the economics of running a business, as well as the importance of nutrition so that they could create a well-balanced menu for their patrons.
Thursday’s entrees included an assortment of sandwiches served with carrot sticks, fruit cups and juice.
Commenting that the service was “good and fast,” Shlomit Shamam, who took Hirsch’s class last year, ordered the No. 3 special: the vegetarian plate of tomatoes, lettuce, beans and cheese topped with croutons and dressing.
