WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The slogan for a popular restaurant in Central Georgia says, "I'd go a long way for a Nu-Way," but Lula Belle Hill has gone a bit further.
"I was working on base and the contract ran out, and one of the girls I knew worked at Nu-Way and I asked her did they need any help," Lula recalled.
They did, and they hired her on the spot.
That was 50 years ago when Lula was 24.
Now at 74, the woman is a machine.
She can balance eight dogs on her arm, and that includes putting on the chili and slaw.
Tyasia James is the store manager, and many times, works right beside Lula.
"She don't play around -- she wants to get her orders out and that's it," James said.
And even though she's the boss, she's got to tip her bun to the top dog manning the grill.
"I think she runs me, and you know what? I let her run me. I let her have her way. I'm just like, 'Yes, ma'am,," James admitted.
"I work like this every day," Lula said.
Six days a week, Lula's opening up the shop at 5:30 in the morning, and she can count on one hand how many times she's taken a vacation.
"I don't call out. I don't stay out. I've never been sick in my life," she said.
With that kind of an attendance record, you get to know the regulars, and they've gotten to know her.
"I love my customers. That's why I've been here so long. A lot of them come because of me," Lula said confidently.
"When she sees the customers at the door, she already got their food in the window ready to pass it out," James said.
Lula Belle is an institution, a link to efficient, friendly service that will probably stay on for quite some time.
"I'm going to work 'til I can't work no more," Lula said.