She doesn’t wear a cape, but at the Cubby’s truck stop in Sioux Falls, Crystal Helm is our superhero.
Every morning, Crystal wakes up before the birds to arrive at work between 3:30 and 4:00am and prep Cubby’s full-service deli. Crystal, who has been working with the company for almost a decade, says she has “seen it all” over her tenure, including an impromptu wedding at the counter using another customer as a witness!
Before COVID-19 hit and the dining area had to close, Crystal had regulars that would spend their entire lunch hours laughing and chatting with her. While she misses that daily interaction, the favorite part of Crystal’s job is meeting and interacting with the many visitors that come in from all over the world. “Some people from Australia came through last year and had some cool accents,” she said. “They were traveling all over the country,” and shared stories of their travels while re-stocking their supplies for the road.
According to Crystal, her team members at the deli have been together for almost three years and have formed close friendships. “We’re all like a family here, which makes it nice,” said Crystal. “I’ve stuck with Cubby’s for so long because they treat me like family. I actually have the owner’s phone number.”
Along with accessibility, Crystal has been happy with Cubby’s response to the pandemic, offering free employee meals as well as thank-you pay to assist her fellow team members and families. “They don’t have to do that, but they look out for their people,” she said.
Thank you for the super work Crystal!