At 9 in the morning on March 2, Rancho Pẽnasquitos Little League (RPLL) opened its 2024 season. Not only did this day start the baseball season, but also the season of the “World-Famous RPLL Snack Bar.”
As a prime place for people under 16 to volunteer, some Westview students find themselves drawn to the snack bar. Samara Ramirez (9) frequently volunteers there on Saturdays.
“The RPLL snack bar is such a fun place to volunteer, especially at my age,” Ramirez said. “It gives me great real-world experience and I’ve learned a lot. It’s also super cool to be able to volunteer with my friends who go there too.”
Char Mann, a Pẽnasquitos mom of one, began her first day of volunteering as the manager of the snack bar. Her team, consisting of teenage shift managers and adult volunteers, started the season by running a Fruity Pebbles pancake special. By the time they closed up the bar at 8:00, Mann knew that it would be an exciting ordeal for her to manage.
Many Westview students who have played in RPLL know of the snack bar by Field 2.
“When I was young and playing in the league, I used to visit the snack bar a lot,” Kai Li (9) said. “They served food that perfected my days at the park and brought me a special thing to look forward to at every game.”
The snack bar is no small feat though. As the person who runs the shop, Mann has quite a few things that she has to juggle to make sure that everything is running smoothly.
“Primarily, for the snack bar, [I] make sure that everything is operating properly and that we have a menu that people will love that’s priced right and easy to execute,” Mann said. “Keeping it safe and clean and also managing the new shift managers that we had this season, along with getting people to sign up is also a big part of it.”
Mann’s past experience of owning a restaurant helped her manage all the responsibilities that came with taking on leadership of the snack bar. Her former restaurant, Landon’s Gourmet Kitchen, was able to give her a feel for the food service industry before closing in March 2023.
On top of taking care of her kids and having a full-time job, Mann still finds time to keep track of everything that comes with working the snack bar. Not only does she come in to help cook, prep, and serve food every week, but she also manages mobile sales on top of all her other responsibilities at the snack bar.
“I do work full-time, but luckily I have a flexible job and I’m able to work from home and can work pretty much any time,” Mann said. “There are other people on the committee that help me, and Angela, who does the shopping, is amazing. We just have a really great team, which makes it a lot easier to have done this. I could not have done it without the team of people helping me.”
Zaza Alexiou (9) spends most of her spring Saturdays working the snack bar during her brother’s baseball season. She said Mann possesses tremendous management qualities that make her so likable and respected.
“She’s been a great manager because she’s always quick to reply whenever I text her needing help,” Alexiou said. “If I call her, she’s always quick to drop everything and help me with whatever crisis I’m having. She’s incredibly understanding and patient and she works to make sure that everything is fair. She doesn’t treat us like she’s the boss of us; she treats us as equals and it’s amazing.”
This season marks the first and last time that Mann will be handling the snack bar on her own. Although it’s bittersweet, she knows that it will be beneficial to hand over her managerial responsibilities to someone else.
“Looking ahead, my son will probably only be in the league one more year,” Mann said. “So, I want to encourage new people to come in that have younger children that are gonna grow throughout the league.”
