The Salt Lake Tribune:
Folks who take a break from Interstate 215 for a bite at Tammie’s Family Diner might do a double-take when they see their waitresses. There’s a family resemblance.
If they glance into the kitchen and see owner Tammie Newport, it might start to make sense.
Newport, a slender, energetic woman with obvious practice at multitasking, hired her four daughters and stepdaughter when she opened the restaurant a year ago this month. They work as a happy family – and a well-oiled machine.
“The real reason I started a restaurant is because I’ve been a single mom most of my life; I started out real young being a mom,” Newport said. “My youngest daughter was turning 18, and basically I needed to do something with my life.”
Newport’s youngest, Jessica Madsen, cooks with her mother and enjoys the family time she gets in while at work.
“We all work well together,” said Madsen, 19, the spitting image of her mother. “Sometimes it’s been a little hard, but I’m the youngest and I’m Mommy’s little girl, so I love being around my mom all the time.”
Newport’s stepdaughter, Johnnie Walker, also 19, works up front. She says there’s more pressure to do everything well when family is on the line, but it’s worth the good company.
Photo by jslander.