A Room with a


(Different Kind of) View


It’s a most unorthodox office indeed, and one you're almost sure to visit if you happen to be a male guest of Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse in Philadelphia.


This office has no windows, yet it offers unique views


nonetheless. Its resident is


Johnny Webb, 34, a Philly born-and- raised native who has been able to turn a particular and unique talent into a full time profession.


74 January  February 2012


This office has no windows, yet it offers unique views nonetheless. Its resident is Johnny Webb, 34, a Philly born-and- raised native who has been able to turn a particular and unique talent into a full time profession. If some men are born into their vocation, then Johnny was surely meant to be the greatest rest- room attendant in town.


His work environment is not merely a marble bathroom; he calls this abode his "Stall of Fame” From everyday office workers to the mayor to sports celebri- ties and film stars, movers, shakers (no pun intended) and captains of indus- tries, Johnny has (discreetly) seen them all, and he's there at the ready with a kind word, a smile and a hand towel.


“I treat all my guests as VIP's" Johnny says with more pride then you'll find coming from most anyone you know who works in a restaurant. "Everybody who enters my 'office' - my zone - they all have a good time and it keeps a smile on my face.”


Once a fixture at supper clubs, posh steakhouses and within the exclusive confines of private clubs, this position seemed to dwindle away shortly after the dot-com heyday of the late 1990s. Now, it is usually relegated to restrooms at casino properties, nightclubs and gentlemen's clubs.


I first met Johnny three years ago when Del Frisco's opened. Unlike others who ply in his trade, Johnny struck me as utterly unobtrusive; where there can be an odd, creepy factor in having some- one listening to and watching you dur- ing your most personal moments, his initial greeting as he heartily held the


restroom door for me at Del Frisco's never made me feel as if he was simply scrounging for a tip.


Around that time, then-GM Shang Skipper had asked Johnny, who had been working as a cleaner for the restaurant, to consider this position. “I fell in love with it. Once I started work- ing here, I decided to turn the restroom into the best room!”


Now, he manages his special space five days a week from 5:00 p.m. or so till closing. His job description is far more than offering a smile and a towel. On the sink's vanity, Johnny employs a full complement of accoutrements - all per- sonally purchased - so his guests will have almost any item they'll ever need before departing.


He stocks dental floss, mouthwash, toothpicks, tooth brushes and tooth- paste; shaving kits come in handy as do the spare pairs of boxer shorts; mints, gum, a bevy of colognes-Pomades, sprays, gels, combs, brushes and an assortment of hair, skin and hand care products, and even a pack of cigarettes and a lighter for the man who wants a quick smoke outside before heading back to his table.


"If I hear someone ask for an item more than ten times, I'll buy it and stock it” Johnny notes.


There's also a part-timer (Elwood) who takes over when Johnny has his days off. And, in the ladies room, an able attendant, Crystal creates her own spe- cial environment.


Some tip a buck or two and other don't at all. It doesn't matter to Johnny, whose main intent is to keep everyone happy. When asked what his biggest gratuity he's received thus far has been, he is quick to reply, "One hundred dol- lars!”


Mr. Uh-oh, it seems, had an, er, acci- dent and Johnny was there with a fresh pair of boxer shorts. "When nature calls, you can run to my stall!” is one of his apropos mottos.


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