Last week when one of the only places open for business was the Waffle House on Mableton Parkway, Monique “Mo” Rios was there serving customers. She walked the two miles from her home in the snow and ice to make it to her job, not just to work her shift, but the shifts of others who could not leave their homes due to the icy roads.

Walking to the restaurant proved a difficult task, explained the 45-year-old mother of five, ages 18 to 25 and grandmother of one.

“It was crazy,” she said. “I was slipping and sliding, but I made it. I bust my butt a couple of times, but I made it. Nothing to cry over.”

In times when people had nowhere else to turn, but the Waffle House, Rios was there serving up waffles and everything else.

One man and his family had not eaten real food in two days and were living on snacks. He thanked Monique for her service.

From Sunday morning until Wednesday last week, she covered shifts in addition to her own and had already worked more than 30 hours.

On Monday, she was one of two servers on duty for a restaurant that was beyond busy, being the only business open for miles around.

By Wednesday, the restaurant was running out of many items including cheesesteak, chicken and bread. Waffle batter wasn’t one of them.

She wondered aloud, “What are we going to do if we can’t serve these folks, if we don’t have any food?”

Many of the customers who frequent the Waffle House on Mableton Parkway come for the waffles and they stay for Rios’ smile and her songs.

“My customers just like me to sing for them. It doesn’t matter whatever they play, country or gospel, it doesn’t matter.”

They pay a couple of quarters and play a song just to hear Rios sing along and sometimes dancing if the song moves her enough. Sometimes, they come in just to chat to someone with a friendly face and gentle voice, who is always willing to listen.

“You just don’t know what people are going through sometimes, you know?” Rios said.

Rios said people have opened up to her and cried telling their stories and later thanking her for simply being there.

Kevin Jenkins, Rios’ manager, said that many of the employees at this particular Waffle House are like family. They have followed him to this location and if they need something, he’s there for them, including Rios.

“Well, at least they get something warm in their stomachs,” Rios said after letting out an exaggerated sigh, “and a warm smile.”

Rios has worked at Waffle House for a total of 10 years since first moving to the Metro Atlanta area in 1994 from New Jersey. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said.

Every Waffle House lover in South Cobb can breathe a sigh of relief.