By Melody Hanatani
Daily Press Staff Writer

DOWNTOWN SM It will start out like any other Wednesday.

Just as she’s had for 21 years, Bea Halahan will roll out of her Mid-City bed before the crack of dawn, at 3 a.m., dressing for a work shift that begins at an ungodly hour, when the morning newscast is just starting and the truck drivers are grabbing their morning coffee.

Just as she has for 21 years, Halahan will clock in Wednesday to begin her early morning shift at Norm’s Restaurant on the corner of Colorado Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard, tying on her apron and pouring coffee and flashing her famous smile before uttering the words, “the usual, babe?”

But unlike the past 21 years, her shift this Wednesday will most likely end in hugs and tears as Halahan bids Norm’s Restaurant and her loyal following good-bye.

“(Retiring is) a hard decision to make,” Halahan said at the end of her shift last week. “I’ve made so many friends, met so many customers ... I had to think long and hard before I decided to make this move.”

The 69-year-old waitress’ history is evident throughout the 24-hour diner, from her picture on the front of the menu to the “hello, Bea” greetings of long-time customers that have gotten used to seeing the Santa Monican’s smiling face as she pours their morning coffee.

“It’s a relaxed atmosphere here,” Halahan said. “I can say anything to them and they can say anything to me ... within reason, of course.”

It is for that reason, along with the fringe benefits of working at Norm’s, that Halahan found it difficult to put in her two week’s notice. The native Liverpudlian struggled for a while with the decision to retire, but did so at the urging of her husband, who retired two years ago after a long-career as a house painter.

While Halahan isn’t nervous about her retirement years, she is apprehensive about walking away from something that she’s done for the past 35 years in Santa Monica.

Shortly after moving to California, a then 34-year-old Halahan started her first waitressing gig at Newbury’s on the Third Street Promenade, spending eight years there until she moved on to Java Time on the promenade, spending another six years there until the business shut down.

Then, Norm’s came calling.

Besides the personable service, Halahan is perhaps best known for her ability to remember the orders of customers that have patronized Norm’s on only a few occasions, even if a client hasn’t been to the restaurant in years.

“She’s definitely a fixture here at the restaurant,” said Tara Colbert, who has been the assistant manager of Norm’s for the past few months. “She has a great rapport with her customers. She has so many regular customers coming to see her for the last 21 years.”

The routine has been essentially unchanged during that time. After about seven hours of sleep, Halahan wakes up at 3 a.m. every work day — no alarm clock necessary — heads to work without breakfast at about 4:45 a.m. and begins preparing for her shift. By 5:30, she’s serving her first group of customers — the construction workers that grab a bite to eat in Santa Monica before heading out for the day’s projects. At 8 a.m., she finally takes some time to eat, though Halahan admitted that the typical breakfast fare of eggs and toast can be unappetizing since she spends her entire shift serving them. By noon, Halahan is ready to head home.

It’s a familiar and comforting schedule.

Post-employment, Halahan and her husband of 15 years intend to take the trailer out to the high desert — their favorite vacation destination — a place where they one day hope to live permanently, leaving the city she has called home since 1972 and where she raised her two children.

But then again, retirement is all about starting over.

“I don’t feel good about leaving,” she said. “But, you know what? Life goes on.”

melodyh@smdp.com