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OAKLAND – It’s 9 a.m. and Virgil Luckett is taking one of his first take out orders of the day. 

“Make sure those waffles are crispy,” the customer says, as Ricki Lake’s face beams from the television set in the corner. “I can’t stand soggy waffles.” 

It’s starting off to be a typical morning at the Pretty Lady Restaurant for a not so typical waiter. As the high-tech industry continues to explode in the Bay Area, the part-time student, part-time entrepreneur and full-time father of five, wants a piece of the action. The Pretty Lady is his launching pad.  

“I’d say up to 1 percent of people in the U.S. are doing business on the Internet,” Luckett says wryly as he stares at the empty pie case. 

“That’s equal to a couple billion dollars. Think how many billions will be made when that percentage goes up.” 

To get his hands on some of those billions, Luckett left a 13-year career at UPS to invest with his mother. They bought the 20-seat diner on Peralta Street two years ago so that Luckett would have the flexibility to return to school.  

“I just wasn’t satisfied at UPS,” Luckett said. “It paid the bills, but I wanted to finish school.”  

In addition to his already packed schedule, Luckett studies law at the New College of California and works on his Internet venture, a dial-up browser that will cater to a wide range of business needs. He is working closely with Oakland’s Office of Economic Development, which provides free marketing and business strategies to aspiring entrepreneurs. Luckett is just one of many in the Bay Area. 

Few, however, are likely to have Luckett’s starting point. Luckett and his mother divide the responsibilities at the Pretty Lady. Luckett waits tables and does the accounting while his mother does most of the cooking.  

He readily admits that running a business in Oakland’s industrial district isn’t easy, especially with the major cost of living increases that have swept the bay area in the past decade. And he started off conservatively. He kept the restaurant’s original name because, he explained, “If we called it something else, we’d have to change the sign out front.” 

So far, he said, his venture is on course even if life in the restaurant business is not turning out exactly as he had thought. According to Luckett, instead of experiencing the usual mealtime rushes, the Pretty Lady gets busiest on the days people receive their paychecks. 

“It’s hard, sometimes, especially in such a low-income area,” he said.  

Regardless, the pair plans to open another diner soon. Luckett says he loves this little restaurant and sees it as a key to his future.  

“Everything we make here is good. People enjoy our food, and that makes me feel good … In the future, I know that I will be finished with school and practicing law.”