94-year-old woman a customer favorite for two decades

HOLLADAY, Utah -- Dorothy Bale has become a fixture and customer favorite during her 25 years working at an Arby's in a Salt Lake City suburb.

The 94-year-old has worked at the sandwich shop longer than some of her co-workers have been alive, going through two remodels and 21 managers, The Salt Lake Tribune recently reported.

She works the counter, taking orders at the cash register or keeping tables and the condiments bar clean. She has become an essential component of the fast food restaurant, working the lunch rush Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, said Cici Salvador, the restaurant's manager.

"I get a lot of customers who come in when she's not here, and it's 'Where's Dorothy? Where's Dorothy?'" Salvador said. "Even when it takes a little longer to take their order, they wait in line."

Bale first walked into the restaurant near her home in 1994 when she was 69. She had decided to go back to work following the death of her husband, Dennis Bale.

"I just came in and asked if they were hiring," Bale said.

Dennis Bale had launched a dental practice in Sugar House following the couple's return to Utah in 1953. He maintained the practice for 35 years, and Dorothy Bale worked there for 23 years. They retired in 1988.

He died of a heart attack at the age of 66, just over a year after retiring.

"She's going, going, going. She never stops," Salvador said. "You never see her just standing there. She's like a little bunny."

Bale isn't planning a second retirement anytime soon. The job, she said, "has kept me busy, and I've met a lot of wonderful people. I'm not going to leave. I'm going to work as long as they let me."