Behind the Counter: Ralphs deli employees dish on aspirations, artistic passions

As the daily lunch rush begins, the Westwood Ralphs deli staff works fast, taking orders and cooking entrees like macaroni and cheese and fried chicken. Carts full of bread fly in and out of the deli kitchen as a constant exchange of cold cuts overtakes the space above the glass countertops.

However, behind the flurry of meat cutting, the employees behind the deli counter at Ralphs have dreams of pursing acting, literature, photography, fashion and counseling that go far beyond making lunch.

As he rings up a customer at the deli cash register, Timothy Kauthen, a Ralphs employee since April, said he has dreamed of becoming a musical performer.

Kauthen said he began in the performing arts in middle school, singing with his class. After entering high school, he participated in choir groups, drama classes and musicals like “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Legally Blonde.”

In the future, Kauthen said he dreams of performing in a musical like “The Lion King” in New York City.

Next to Kauthen in the meat section of the deli, Aaron Goodell, a Ralphs employee since June, operates a deli slicer as he prepares Boar’s Head roast beef for a waiting customer.

Although Goodell spends his afternoons weighing packages of meat on the metallic scales of the deli, his true passions are for horror literature and graphic arts. As a child, he was introduced to the horror genre after discovering Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tales of Mystery and Imagination.”

“It made a real impression on me,” Goodell said. “I’ve always had a special love of strange, weird, unpleasant things.”

Goodell said he loves international horror conventions where authors and producers discuss horror literature and movies. He also enjoys reading Warren Comics, in which sea monsters, vampires and other horrific creatures run rampant in the inked pages of a comic book. Goodell aspires to run his own business as a small publisher.

As Goodell finishes with a customer, Elijah Brickley steps behind him into the aisles of deli cutters and begins to wipe the slicers down with a battered rag, one of his many tasks since beginning work at Ralphs in March. With just a few quick swipes, he removes a layer of grease from the slicer.

Taking a break from cleaning, Brickley said aspects of the arts world like fashion, film and photography inspired him.

Brickley started to take pictures two years ago, focusing on his friends who skateboard.

Although he doesn’t skate himself, Brickley centers his photography and film mostly around his skater friends by making montages of their skateboard tricks and photographing them skating together. He said his favorite picture is of his friends overlooking the Los Angeles River on an old bridge.

“(Photography) is like expression pretty much; it’s that momentary story you get to tell and show to everybody,” Brickley said. “It’s your perspective but in kind of an alternative way.”

While frowning at his Ralphs uniform, Brickley said he also has been trying to design his own fashion line. Using shirts and jeans he finds on sale, he cuts and tears different designs into the material, creating new clothing combinations.

Outside of the meat department, Claribel Mata, a Ralphs employee since August, finishes her shift around 2 p.m. by making one last Holy Pepper Inferno grilled cheese, a spicy customer favorite among those who come to Ralphs deli for lunch.

Taking her plastic gloves off for the day, Mata said she also works as a family counselor outside of the deli at a Los Angeles family counseling center with her degree in psychology.

Mata said she loves working at the family counseling center and hopes to go back to school to build her own private counseling practice. However, she can’t seem to leave her job at Ralphs because she has built relationships with several customers.

Although each deli employee has their own dreams outside of the deli, Kauthen said working at Ralphs gives good cooking experience and pays well, which allows him to go home and cook with his family. He also said the customers are friendly when they order and help make the job more fun.

“I was supposed to just do this (work at the deli) for like a month or two,” Mata said. “But it’s hard to just leave. You actually get attached to the people, the co-workers, the customers; I just like to help.”