“I never sit still,” says Lisa Zurbriggen, 44, of Canal Winchester, Ohio. “If my
tombstone says ‘Lisa Zurbriggen was a hard worker,’ I’ll be thrilled.”
Zurbriggen can be seen around town in her various roles. She is a wife and mother
to three children, she and her husband own and operate Butch’s Italian Café, she is
Director of the Canal Winchester Food Pantry, and she is a master baker who crafts
cakes and cupcakes for special occasions.
Zurbriggen is active in her community, especially during the Jazz & Ribs Fest and the
Canal Winchester Labor Day Festival where she volunteers her time for the Peggy
Wood Scholarship Pageant Court. She also volunteers at David’s United Church of
Christ where she teaches Sunday school, is in the Choir, serves on four committees,
and provides food for and instruction at Vacation Bible School.
“Right now, I’m washing over one hundred band uniforms for the High School
Marching Band” says Zurbriggen.
In addition, Zurbriggen and her husband donate over 500 meals for Canal
Winchester School’s Literacy Night, and provide food for band camp and sports
teams like soccer, football, basketball, volleyball and the cheerleaders.
What makes Zurbriggen so driven?
“I grew up on a horse farm, always having to take care of animals. You can’t eat
breakfast until the animals are fed, and you have to let them in and let them out. I
think that was a huge part of making me responsible and hard working, because
they depend on you.”
Zurbriggen knows that several hundred people depend on the Canal Winchester
Food Pantry each week, and she takes that seriously. Since taking over as Director
of the Food Pantry back in March, she has seen the number of families being served
double.
“We average between 40 to 45 families a week. It’s increased over the summer
since school’s been out.”
Zurbriggen is fed, in turn, by her responsibilities at the Food Pantry. “I love to
organize, it’s food, and I do food. It’s a good fit. I just fell in love with it. It crept into
my heart. I get more out of it than I bring to it.”
Her customers at the Food Pantry show their appreciation for all that Zurbriggen
does. She is often hugged, touched or patted by many of them.
“She really works well with people,” says Mary Sims Short, a volunteer at the Food
Pantry. “She’s a go-getter and a very hard worker. She’s involved with everything.
We’ll have two or three people doing the food bank, and she’s going in and getting
stuff herself. Seems like if anything needs done, she’s there.”
Zurbriggen scurries a lot between the Food Pantry, Butch’s Italian Café, and her
baking service. At Butch’s, she is owner, operator, waitress, hostess, employer, hirer
(she has her husband Butch do the firing), and scheduler, but she draws the line at
cooking. “There’s a reason I married a chef.”
Her employees love the casual, fun atmosphere that Zurbriggen supports at Butch’s
Italian Café.
“If we joke around, you know, having fun, that attitude is passed on to the customers
and they notice that. But you have to take it seriously, too,” says Lisa Lanning, a
previous server.
“Lisa makes sure that everyone is treated like she would want to be treated in a
restaurant. She even had shirts made up with different sayings for the staff to wear
at work, like ‘Penne for Your Thoughts’ or ‘Honk if You Love Chicken Armando’ or ‘I
Work for Food,’” says Lanning.
Zurbriggen is very team oriented, and makes sure that everyone helps each other
out. If a server fills a glass of iced tea or a cup of coffee at one of his or her tables,
that same server will also walk around the restaurant filling the cups at other
servers’ tables.
“It’s like No Child Left Behind. We don’t leave team members behind,” says Zach
Hartsell, server at Butch’s Italian Café.
When asked what her next goals might be, Zurbriggen says, “I feel like I’m living my
goals. I love my community, my church and my family. Those are the three most
important things in my life. I don’t have big aspirations, except for my children. I’m
really, really grateful for the Food Pantry. I want to be a good steward of it.”
Zurbriggen does admit to having a shortcoming.
“I worry. A lot. I’m responsible to a fault. That’s a lot of pressure.” She says her
church, her family and her community help keep her grounded. She needs her
spiritual time every Sunday to help keep her focused on what’s important.
“I do drop the ball. But never with anything important. I worry about everyone and
everything and how what I do affects other people. I want to be a good steward and
want to make good decisions. I don’t ever want to affect people in a negative way.”
SOURCES CITED:
Lisa Zurbriggen, age 44, owner/operator of Butch’s Italian Café, interview July 27,
2011. Contact info: 614-837-4756
Lisa Lanning, age 50, Director of David’s Extended Care, interview July 27, 2011.
Contact info: 614-833-5046.
Mary Sims Short, age 82, retired, Food Pantry volunteer, interview July 27, 2011.
Contact info: 614-837-0486.
Zach Hartsell, age 19, server at Butch’s Italian Café, interview July 28, 2011. Contact
info: 614-364-3006.