Most lunch hours, find Deb Cooper around the bar at Minervas in downtown Sioux Falls pouring drinks, taking orders and serving nearby tables.

But last week, Cooper became the guest at the annual Experience Sioux Falls luncheon — and had no idea the twist her meal was about to take.

As Experience Sioux Falls CEO Teri Schmidt read the first winner of a First Impressions award for the restaurant industry, “it was really funny because she didn’t get it,” said Ken Bashore, CEO of Vanguard Hospitality.

“She didn’t get it. And then she heard her name, and she goes: ‘That’s weird. There’s two of me?'”

Longtime friend and co-worker Eva Mott broke the news. “It’s you.”

“She looks at us and we just busted up laughing,” Bashore said. “But it was super-special seeing her recognized for all her hard work. Her peers and her guests recognized it, and that was such great validation.”

“It was so awesome,” added Tim Meagher, Vanguard chief operations officer. “She was in shock. She was struggling to process that she had to walk up there and receive this award.”

Days later, back behind the bar, Cooper still was shaking her head even as her trophy was displayed in the Minervas dining room.

“The hard thing for me to comprehend is that it’s for all of Sioux Falls,” she said. “I was totally shocked though. I actually thought, ‘There’s another Deb Cooper in town?'”

There might be, but this Deb Cooper is the one who took home the honor as a winning example of helping people feel welcome in Sioux Falls. As the nomination read:

“Deb Cooper consistently creates an exceptionally welcoming atmosphere from the moment a guest enters the restaurant and bar. Her service is not only incredibly friendly but also remarkably efficient. She truly embodies ‘service with a smile,’ instantly putting guests at ease with her warm and genuine demeanor. What truly distinguishes Deb is her extraordinary ability to make each customer feel uniquely valued, paying close attention to their needs as if they were her only patron, even during the busiest times. This genuine connection and dedication to outstanding service define a perfect first impression.”

Cooper moved to Sioux Falls in 1989 to expand her horizons and quickly found her way to a role at the downtown restaurant.

“Minervas always had an excellent reputation,” she said. “Back then you had to fight to get in here. They had stacks of applications.”

She began as a bartender, then a lunch server and worked her way up to dinner service.

Now, you’ll find her Monday through Friday behind the bar and serving tables until 3 p.m.

“She’s very approachable and can read the type of experience people are looking to have quickly,” Meagher said.

Bashore, who has known Cooper since the early ’90s, calls her “one of those rare people who is going to greet you like she would greet anybody. You’re instant friends with Deb, and that’s probably the magic,” he said.

“You’re going to laugh, and she’s going to tell you a joke, and she knows how to temper whether it’s going to be PG or beyond. But she just knows how to play a crowd. She’s honed her skills. She’s fun to be around, but she knows when to switch gears and take care of business. She knows how to read a table. If you’re there for a business meeting, she’ll give silent service, and there are other tables that want her to entertain, and she knows how to do both.”

Admittedly, “I can get away with some jokes I shouldn’t,” Cooper laughed. “I don’t know. But I’ve always been that way. I very much tiptoe around politics though. I stay very noncommittal.”

As one of the longest-tenured staff members at Minervas, Cooper “knows when to be a mom to our newer employees but can relate to our team and wants everyone to succeed,” Meagher said. “She’s also a gatekeeper in service standards. She sets a high bar and is the first person to point out if we make a change that is affecting service or the guest experience.”

For her part, Cooper tries “to be friendly and treat people how I’d want to be treated,” she said. “Smile. Some days it’s harder to do that than others, but no one wants to be waited on by a grumpy butt. Plus, it feels good being nice.”