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ORAL HISTORY
Jackie Baity
Busy Bee Cafe
Jackie Baity was born in Atlanta in 1954. She began working at the Busy Bee Cafe in the late 1980s. Founded in 1947, the Busy Bee Café has succeeded because the business has adapted as the city has changed. Baity has frequently adapted, too, to suit the needs of her customers. Regulars often request ‘Ms. Jackie’ as their server. Her pastor is one of her regulars. Baity knows his order of whiting fish, turnip greens, and candied yams by heart.
Busy Bee owner Tracy Gates works hard to retain key employees. Baity says that’s the treason she’s stayed on staff for so long. She has long enjoyed tending to the diverse customers who sit in her section. In 2016, to spend more time with her children and with friends in her church choir, Baity reduced her work schedule from six days a week to three.
