In the past three and a half years, Chelsea Richard has enjoyed her time at LaSalle Market and Deli, growing close to many of her customers and front-of-the-house manager Jessie Kaminski.

“My customers are family and my boss is my best friend; it doesn’t get much better than that,” Richard said. “Basically my day-to-day interaction with people is a pretty positive experience.”

The restaurant is a hub of activity during the week, and working early morning though early to mid afternoon, Richard can see as many as 200 people a day.

But taking orders, answering phones, bringing food to customers, filling coffee and rearranging the restaurant’s eclectic tables only accounts for part of Richard’s day. When she’s done at LaSalle, most days it’s off to Central Connecticut State University, where Richard is a hospitality and tourism major.

It makes for some long days, leaving the house at 6 a.m. and returning home at 11 p.m. She is on schedule to graduate in December and hopes to do marketing for a hotel in Boston.

“I want a lifestyle where you’re not doing this 17 hours a day,” she said.

Boston is one of the places she already loves to visit and is a die-hard Bruins fan. Richard also loves to travel. In October, she got a chance to visit Captiva Island in Florida with her aunt and spend 10 days shelling, boating, snorkeling and enjoying the beach.

“I love the beach; it’s my favorite place,” she said.

She also enjoys catching a little nightlife.

“I'm not an intellectual person,” she said. “I like to go out and have fun — meet the locals. It’s kind of what I do here, and it carries out wherever I go.”

Traveling is something she hopes to do more of in the future, her dream destination being Bora Bora. But in the meantime, Richard will keep studying, spending time with friends and waiting on customers.

 “She’s a dedicated worker,” Kaminski said. “She cares a lot about her customers, especially the regulars.”