Waiter Grover
From Muppet Wiki
Waiter Grover is Grover's most frequent occupation. As a waiter, Grover usually works at Charlie's Restaurant, although he has also toiled at O'Brien's Fast Food Restaurant, an airport restaurant and a few other locations.
Grover's regular customer is Mr. Johnson, a Fat Blue Anything Muppet who has become increasingly frustrated over the years with the service Grover provides. In the earlier skits, Mr. Johnson was a lot calmer, and Grover was usually the victim. The situation soon reversed, however. Simon Soundman and the Count have also been served by Waiter Grover.
The framing story of the video Let's Eat!: Funny Food Songs involves Grover working as a waiter at Planet Storybook. He was also a waiter at his own tribute in A Celebration of Me, Grover. Grover was also a waiter during the Muppets 30th anniversary celebration in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, and handed the bill to Jim Henson.
Contents |
Sketches
Mr. JohnsonFor occasions where Grover served Mr. Johnson in a non-restaurant setting see: Grover and Mr. Johnson | |||
| Picture | Title | Earliest Known Appearance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Alphabet Soup | Episode 0276 | Mr. Johnson wants a bowl of hot alphabet soup, and he really wants it to be hot. He looks to make sure that each letter of the alphabet is in his soup, but he is missing some. By the time Grover brings in every last letter, the soup is cold. This was the first skit with Grover as a waiter.[1] |
 | Picture Menu | Episode 0332 | Grover opens a menu and shows Mr. Johnson a large picture of the special sandwich, which comes with potato chips on the side, a pickle on the top, and olive stuck in with a toothpick. When the sandwich arrives, Mr. Johnson complains that it doesn't match the picture on the menu -- it doesn't have potato chips, a pickle or an olive. After Grover finally gets the order right, Mr. Johnson says he doesn't have time to eat and leaves. Grover then loses it and has a temper tantrum in the kitchen. |
 | Chicken Soup | Episode 0406 | Grover serves Mr. Johnson a bowl of chicken soup. Johnson says that he can't eat the soup, and Grover can't guess why. "That settles it," Johnson sighs. "From now on, I'm bringing my lunch to work in a paper sack." He finally explains to Grover that he can't eat the soup because he doesn't have a spoon.
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 | Bacon and Eggs | Episode 0692 | Mr. Johnson orders bacon and eggs, but he can't decide how many of each he wants. |
 | Hamburger | Episode 0705 | Mr. Johnson wants a hamburger. The restaurant offers two sizes: the big hamburgers and the small hamburgers. When the small hamburgers are too small, he orders a big one, but because there have been some problems with the big hamburger, Grover tries to convince him to order several small ones. Mr. Johnson finally loses his patience and demands his large hamburger. Grover winds up delivering a colossal-sized hamburger that he is barely able to carry; the burger is so huge that he crashes through the doors and adjacent walls, causing damage.
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 | What to eat first? | Episode 1026 | Mr. Johnson orders soup and a sandwich, and says that he wants the sandwich before the soup. When Grover comes with the sandwich, Mr. Johnson has changed his mind and wants the soup first. When Grover comes with the soup, Mr. Johnson has decided that he wants the sandwich first. Grover ends up giving Mr. Johnson both the soup and sandwich, so he can decide what to eat first. Mr. Johnson tells Grover that he has decided to get a cup of coffee, then the soup and the sandwich. |
 | All Out of Food | Episode 1708 | Grover informs Mr. Johnson that the restaurant is out of a lot of items that are on the menu. The only thing still at the restaurant is milk... but there are no glasses.
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 | Special of the Day | Episode 1845 | Grover tells Mr. Johnson the menu, which has the items numbered. Number nine is the special of the day. It turns out to be a real number nine, but Mr. Johnson doesn't want it. (It's medium rare, and he likes his nines well-done.) |
 | Grover, the Singing and Dancing Waiter | Episode 2122 | Grover is a singing and dancing waiter at Charlie's Mexican restaurant. When he brings in Mr. Johnson's order, he sings and dances while still holding the tray and spills Mr. Johnson's food on the floor. He keeps on doing this whenever he brings in more food.
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 | O'Brien's Fast Food Restaurant | Episode 2822 | Grover is the newest employee of a fast food franchise which serves such delicacies as O'Fish, O'Salad, O'Rye Bread and O'Milk. However, this is a different kind of "fast food" restaurant: the food zips by the customer on trays across the counter, and falls to the floor if it's not caught in time. Mr. Johnson is not ready for this, so he asks if there's any "slow food." There is, but it's served by a turtle who takes longer than Mr. Johnson wants to wait. Grover calls to an unseen "Chet" to order Mr. Johnson's food. This is a reference to Chet O'Brien, who played Mr. Macintosh on Sesame Street, and was the real-life floor manager for the show. |
 | Trip to South America | Episode 3048 | Mr. Johnson eats at an airport restaurant and is on his way to South America. Grover is the waiter, and when he learns about Mr. Johnson's trip, he gives a big lecture on South America, causing Mr. Johnson to miss his flight. |
 | Grover's Poetic Memory | Episode 3060 | Grover has a new method of remembering orders: He makes up a poem to remember what is ordered and who ordered it. Mr. Johnson orders a hamburger with pickles and French fries, which Grover interprets as "Round and tasty on a bun, pickles, French fries, yum, yum, yum!" However, he brings Mr. Johnson a grapefruit on a bun. |
 | Two Waiters | Episode 3192 | Mr. Johnson gets a different waiter for a change, a light blue monster named Piño. Then Grover comes by and argues with Piño over which one of them is serving Mr. Johnson. |
 | Much Ado About Nothing | Episode 3200 | In a Monsterpiece Theater sketch, Grover laments to Mr. Johnson that the restaurant doesn't have anything he orders. |
 | Charlie's Birthday | Episode 3832 | In honor of Charlie's birthday, Grover is only serving items that begin with a "CH" sound. Mr. Johnson orders a cheeseburger, chips, cherry pie, and chocolate ice cream, and he actually gets his food in no time, but before he can eat, the table (which the plate is on) gets taken away because it does not begin with a "CH" sound.
When this appeared in Episode 3832, the street story leads into the sketch. (YouTube) |
 | Chicken Castle | Episode 3786 | Grover works at a fried chicken restaurant, Chicken Castle. He serves Mr. Johnson an empty bucket. When he demands a full bucket, Grover squeezes into the bucket. (Cameo appearance of Papa Bear and Baby Bear in the beginning.)
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 | Tomato Surprise | Episode 3836 | Mr. Johnson wants a hamburger, but Grover strongly suggests that he order the tomato surprise instead. Mr. Johnson relents and asks for the tomato surprise, only to find that it means a giant, talking tomato will be dining with him. Surprise! |
 | Put a Lid on It | Episode 3916 | Grover brings Mr. Johnson his milk stirred, but not shaken. Mr. Johnson explains that he wanted it shaken, not stirred: a milkshake. As Grover tries to accommodate, he drops the glass of milk and the sketch breaks out into "Put a Lid on It" by the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Mr. Johnson is named Fred during the song. |
 | Outdoor Cafe | Episode 3105 | Mr. Johnson has lunch at Charlie's Outdoor Al Fresco Fresh Air Cafe, where he's disappointed to find Grover waiting on him. The wind picks up, and blows his food away -- but when Grover gives him the bill, the wind dies down, and he has to pay. |
 | Russian Restaurant | Episode 4111 | Grover is joined by two musicians, and they have to sing when telling their customer what is on the menu. Mr. Johnson keeps ordering, and Grover asks if any is left, to which Charlie replies "Nyet" ("no"). After realizing that Charlie is out of a lot of food, Mr. Johnson asks Grover what he does have. Grover knows that the restaurant has one bowl of borscht (soup), because Grover was saving it for himself, but he lets Mr. Johnson have it.
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 | Rhyming Day | Episode 4139 | Mr. Johnson goes to eat at Charlie's once again. It is rhyming day at Charlie's, which means the customer has to make up a rhyme with whatever he orders. Mr. Johnson wants a tuna sandwich on rye. Grover brings him an apple pie, but that's not what Mr. Johnson wanted. Grover then learns that they are all out of tuna on rye, so Mr. Johnson asks for a cheeseburger instead ... but what rhymes with cheeseburger? |
 | Service Bell | Upon Mr. Johnson's latest visit to Charlie's Restaurant, the waitstaff has been implemented with a new service device. Grover instructs his guest to ring the bell three times to get his attention instead of yelling across such an upper crust establishment. After Mr. Johnson has trouble deciphering the speed with which he must ring the bell, he calls Andre the manager out to address his concerns. Andre, having been interupted while eating a sour cream soufflé, doesn't think there's anything wrong with the bell. In fact, he thinks it looks so good that he eats it, as Mr. Johnson notices the time and rushes out of the restaurant. | |
 | Guido's Trattoria and Spaghetti Joint | Mr. Johnson wants to order some spaghetti at an Italian restaurant called Guido's Trattoria and Spaghetti Joint. Grover gets his order, but it turns out to be just one noodle, angering him. Next, Grover brings him only two noodles, then one noodle again. Finally, Grover brings him a large plate of spaghetti, with a lot of noodles. It proves too heavy for him, and he spills the spaghetti all over Mr. Johnson, who storms off in a huff.
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 | Corn on Toast | Mr. Johnson wants to order a couple of poached eggs on toast, but Grover informs him that the restaurant is out of eggs, so he brings two corn cobs on toast to him. Grover gives a lecture on where eggs come from, by bringing a cornstalk, chicken feed, and a chicken to the table. | |
 | There's a Fly in My Soup | Mr. Johnson has been served a bowl of soup, but flags down his waiter to make a complaint. He asks Grover to inspect the fly that's in his soup, but Grover looks under, next to and above the soup before he agrees to bring out a new bowl. The kitchen is all out of what Mr. Johnson ordered, so he brings him Cream of Mosquito. | |
 | Back and Front of Chair | In a miraculous feat for Mr. Johnson, Grover serves up a large bowl of spaghetti exactly to his liking. While Grover tends his other tables, he keeps bumping up behind Mr. Johnson and forcing his face into the meal. Grover solves the problem by moving the table away from him, so he can run in front of Mr. Johnson. | |
 | Food | Elmo's World: Food | A brief original segment is shown at the end of Elmo's quiz to illustrate that grown-ups eat... unless Grover is their waiter. |
Other Customers | |||
| Picture | Title | Earliest Known Appearance | Description |
 | Cluck-Cluck Sandwich | Episode 0678 | Simon Soundman wants a chicken sandwich, which he orders as a "cluck-cluck" sandwich. Grover has trouble figuring out what his customer wants. Simon Soundman says that his brother always eats at that restaurant, implying that Mr. Johnson might be his brother.
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| | The Count Orders a Hot Dog | Episode 0905 | The Count has come to order hot dogs -- lots of hot dogs. But when Grover refuses to get more hot dogs because the Count will only count them and not eat them, The Count uses a hypnotism spell to get more. |
 | Grandmother's Birthday | Grover prepares a table for a family who's celebrating their grandmother's birthday, but Grover doesn't know her name, so when each family member refers to her as a different relative each time, Grover thinks there's more than one party going on, so he ends up bringing out six cakes. | |
Book appearances
- The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
- Elmo's Easy As ABC (2005)
Video game appearances
- Counting Café (1994)
External links
- ToughPigs Anthology: Troubled Waiter - sketch transcripts
Sources
- ↑ Borgelnict, David Sesame Street Unpaved page 48
