If you've ever stepped foot into Parkway Bakery & Tavern, you've likely been greeted by a mustachioed man bearing a New York accent so thick you'd swear you were ordering a pastrami on rye, not a po-boy.

For nearly two decades, Michael Tannen, 71, has stood behind the counter, taking po-boy orders at Parkway ever since he came to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in search of work.

Rain or shine, the native New Yorker treks along the bayou from his neighboring home on Grand Route St. John to the sandwich shop, where his omnipresence has earned him the nickname "Parkway."

"Mike is pretty much like the maître'd of this po-boy shop," Justin Kennedy, Parkway general manager and head chef, said about his coworker-turned-friend.

Tannen's presence is a constant. So much so that when he knoc

See Full Page