Community: My Grandma’s Empanadas
If you know Rikki Waite, then you know how wonderful she is. She has such a way about her. I’ve heard that phrase my whole life and never understood what it meant, but then I met Rikki.
Rikki has this extraordinary innate way of making you feel seen. She makes you feel special. She makes you feel like you are the only one in her busy café. She sees you not just with her eyes, but with her heart. She makes you feel like you’ve been a regular in her shop since day one. She is the epitome of connection.
She is tough and tenacious and gritty. But she is also good and kind and genuine.
Rikki is the type of person who works in the background and orchestrates great things all over this city without anyone ever knowing. She’s giving, but in a way where she doesn’t draw attention to herself. So many people have giving hearts, but they cancel it out with showmanship and a camera. But not Rikki. She doesn’t need the public satisfaction and the shares on social media to drive her kindness; she just does what she does because she wants to. She makes our community a better place.
I like to escape to her café as often as possible. Locals know that her café, My Grandma’s Empanadas, is a happening place. The tables are always full, it always smells amazing, and people are always happy and full when they leave. The time and effort put into securing the quality ingredients would exhaust anyone else, but Rikki doesn’t cut corners. And while the food is exceptional, the experience of her café is what brings people back. It’s what brings people together. It’s such an extension of herself.
She’s persistent, which is my favorite thing about her. She doesn’t like to hear the word no, and she isn’t afraid of a scuffle. I’ve learned so much from her personally and professionally. I know magic exists, because people like Rikki don’t just appear. She is the hardest working person I know, yet she still takes time to stop and smell the roses along the way. The journey is so much better having a friend like Rikki by your side.
She talks like someone who has lived a hundred lives in one. When you think you know everything about her, you’ve only scratched the surface. She’s a wealth of knowledge and she doesn’t gatekeep it and let you figure things out on your own. Those kind of people rarely exist anymore. That’s one of the many reasons why she and My Grandma’s Empanadas are so successful.
I’ve figured it out. Rikki makes you feel loved.
My Grandma’s Empanadas can be found at 20 S Armed Forces Blvd in Warner Robins, GA
