It can be exciting to be captain of the ship, but Resa Downing's job may be even more fun. She's the snack bar attendant on the San Francisco Bay Ferry Vallejo route.
Resa Downing has a lot of fun working as a snack bar attendant on the San Francisco Bay Ferry Vallejo run. As a matter of fact, many of her current friends are people that she met on the job.
By Matt Larson
Published: June, 2016
It can be exciting to be captain of the ship, but Resa Downing’s job may be even more fun. She’s the snack bar attendant on the San Francisco Bay Ferry Vallejo route. She started part time in 2005 and has been working at the position full time for the past six years. “I really enjoy it,” she said. “It’s a great view every day, and all the people here are genuinely nice.”
As a transplant from Dallas 12 years ago who didn’t know many people in the area, this job was the perfect fit. “This was a great way for me to meet people,” she said. “Most of the friendships I’ve had have been through people I’ve met on the ferry.” Downing gives some examples: “I’m invited over to people’s houses for the holidays, next month I’m going to a garden party, it’s a lot of fun!”
With each run she works, Downing looks forward to a new group of regulars joining her for the ride. Often, there’s a core group of three to five people hanging out at the bar. “I have one guy on the 7:15 who fancies himself an actor and singer, so he’s very entertaining, to say the least,” she said. “I have a lot of fun with him, but I don’t have any favorites. Everybody is different in their own way,” she said.
No matter how different they are, she still has fun with them all. “‘Entertain me!’ I like to say,” Downing said with a laugh. “I’ll make the drinks but you have to entertain me.” If she had to decide between entertainment or tips, however, she would choose both.
Downing’s secret to making friends at the job is to simply start a dialogue. “I have a Cowboys tattoo on my arm, that seems to bring up a lot of questions,” Downing laughed. Although the San Francisco Bay Area is a lot of things, it’s certainly not Dallas Cowboys territory.
Given the tattoo, Downing will often have commuters ask, “Are you in the wrong place?” or say, “You’re a Cowboys fan? I don’t know if I want you to make my drink.” But she assures us that it’s all just playful banter. “I had one of my commuters give me a Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt and cup when she went to Dallas for a conference,” she said. “I was just blown away! I couldn’t believe it. Stuff like that is kind of overwhelming.”
Downing moved here from Dallas to attend culinary school in San Francisco. Since then she’s worked at Domaine Chandon, at one of Cindy Pawlcyn’s restaurants, and is currently focusing on catering every so often on the weekends. That’s right, when she’s not working, she’s still working! Or exploring. “There’s so much for me to do, even though I’ve been here 12 years,” she said. She can often be found with her Pekingese, named Boots, roaming the Vallejo waterfront. She loves the weather here, and the people. “My intention was to move back to Dallas but I’ve had such a good time here, I don’t see myself going back anytime soon.”
Speaking of good times, much of the fun on the ferry can be attributed to Downing’s efforts, be it by providing the food, the drinks or the company. That’s actually one of the main reasons she believes the ferry is the best way to travel in the Bay Area. “There’s people that never knew each other before who meet on the ferry and form friendships that last a long time. You can’t do that in your car,” Downing said. Either way, “It sure beats sitting in traffic for two and a half hours. I think the ferry is the best way to go.”
