Frantic shoppers swerve their carts down and through the aisles of Key Food, pass each other, and dash out the front doors. All seem to be on auto-pilot, engulfed in their individualized thought bubbles. Left largely unnoticed and unacknowledged, stands Wesley Elisse as he peacefully restocks the shelves. Creating order out of the day’s disorder, Wesley knows how to make the grocery store run as efficiently as possible.
“I know the place inside out,” said Mr. Elisse, a 60-years old Haitian immigrant with a pleased smile, as he proceeds to restock the milk cartons into the fridge.
Every now and then, a new customer interrupts to ask where to find an item. Whether you’re looking for something ordinary like a box of cereal or something peculiar like some diet-brand loaf of bread, Mr. Elisse will know exactly where to find it. He can even recall at ease whether or not an item is found at the Flatbush Avenue location.
“They come in with their lists like, check, check, cheese, check, oh wait, no, where’s the cheese?! I forgot the cheese. And so there I come in like the hero,” jokes Mr. Elisse.
As I speak to Wesley, a woman leans her hand on the shelf across the aisle and reaches for a can of beans at the very top, knocking over a bunch of other cans in the process. Almost instinctually, Mr. Elisse goes to help the woman as he brings his tall, lanky body over, grasping the can with no effort at all. A quick thank you was exchanged and Mr. Elisse quickly straightened up the mess. “People expect it all to be organized and all, but it doesn’t happen on its own, that’s for sure,” said Mr. Elisse, “It’s routine work.”
“Just pick out the good eggs from this carton and put it in that one,” Mr. Elisse instructs a frantic customer shifting through the egg cartons looking for the perfect one without any cracked eggs. The woman looks skeptically at Mr. Elisse, who seemed to be giving her an inside secret. He chuckles at her gaze and assures her, “Don’t worry, I work here.”
Seemingly the oldest employee in the store, a co-worker shares he is also one of the sweetest staff members and takes his job very seriously. “Just look at him! He’s so focused.”
His sincerity is a constant. When two kids ran down the aisle and knocked over stacked boxes of Kraft’s Macaroni & Cheese, Mr. Elisse quietly picked up each box as he displayed a genuine smile with no hint of frustration or annoyance. Upon placing the last box at the top of the pyramid he constructed, his smile grew at each end with satisfaction of his pristine work.
Mr. Elisse makes enough money at the establishment, but wishes to save up for his family back in Haiti. He hasn’t been back in Haiti for more than five years, well before the most recent earthquake in 2010. He hopes to visit his country again and ensure the safety of his surviving family members. He had experienced many losses among his friends and family and learned to be very grateful for his life in America and his health. “Family always comes first, and I been working hard every day just for them.”
Surrounded by the high walls of products with different brands, advertisement labels, and sale tags, Mr. Elisse reminisces about the fresh open markets of his village. “Nuttin’ like Haiti, darling.”
As I examine the frantic shoppers once more, I realize how refreshing it is to see a man so involved, skilled, and passionate about a job most people rarely acknowledge or appreciate.
