  Mister Days’ Tiffany Lee Plans Another Thirty Years
Bobby and Tiffany Lee are a father-daughter duo with nearly 40 years combined experience in the restaurant business – and its all here in Arlington.
By Monica Cardenas
Bobby Lee opened the first Mister Days in downtown D.C. almost thirty years ago. While that location closed in 2000, Arlington’s Mister Days has become something of a landmark in Arlington, and it is still owned and operated by Bobby and his daughter, Tiffany.
 Originally, a family friend owned the space where Mister Days now sits at 3100 Clarendon Blvd. When the Lee family decided it might be a good move for them, they made the jump to Arlington, running two businesses simultaneously for nearly a year. Once the lease expired for the space in D.C., Bobby and Tiffany put their energies into Arlington exclusively.
The move proved to be a great investment. Their deliberately unpublicized opening on a Thursday evening still drew crowds. Although the Clarendon-Courthouse area has steadily grown in recent years, at the time, the area was undeveloped and the move was somewhat risky.
Although Tiffany is now a partner of the business, she and her father worked together for many years before. From the time she was just a kid, Tiffany worked at Mister Days D.C., quickly learning the ins and outs of running a restaurant over the years.
“I’ve always had a close relationship with my father,” said Tiffany. “I have great respect for him.”
From the beginning, it seemed entrepreneurship was in Tiffany’s blood. As a young equestrian, she started a side business in braiding.
“I’d gather the clients and then hire someone else to do the braiding for twenty-five dollars,” said Tiffany with a laugh. “Then I’d charge the horse’s owner $100.”
It has always been important to Tiffany to carry on the family business. While she earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland and her Master’s degree in Business Administration from George Washington University, her most important lesson came from her dad.
“He has taught me to build a business one customer at a time,” said Tiffany. “Each guest is equally important.”
She needed those lessons before officially joining the business as a partner. Having many years more experience than his daughter, Bobby asked Tiffany to be sure of her decision first.
“I knew what I was getting into,” said Tiffany with a laugh. “Doing this was never something that was forced on me.”
 She is not entirely wrapped up in work, however. Tiffany was married just over a month ago to a man with similar entrepreneurial ambition. He runs Fitness Image Results, an Arlington-based health and fitness provider. Although they both admire the recreation and diversity Arlington offers, the couple resides in Annandale.
Although the work is never easy, Tiffany insists there is no bad part of her job.
“The atmosphere is great, and it allows me to meet unlimited numbers and kinds of people,” she said. “I love that it is never the same thing every day.”
Bobby is not as involved in the day-to-day operations at Mister Days as he used to be, as he travels back and forth from Florida. However, it is clear that, as always, business decisions are a team effort.
“It’s a 24-hour a day job,” said Tiffany with a smile. “But you can be sure it is never boring.”
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