One can often see Vaquana Daniers, a 25-year-old employee, preparing coffee for the Muchas Nuchas empanadas stand in Times Square, New York City. Tucked behind the flashy blue New York Police Department sign, the stand sells everything from coffee and empanadas to croissants and hot chocolate.

The stand, which moves up and down Broadway, previously stood in front of Sephora, then Toys R Us, and now next to the long-standing Snack Box hot dog stand.

Daniers’ favorite location to sell empanadas was in front of Toys R Us.

“When they come out of Toys R Us, they come directly to us, whether they get a drink or an empanada,” she said,  “It’s really busy over there, as opposed to here.”

The Muchas Nuchas stand bakes the empanadas on site. “[The empanadas] come here frozen, and we bake and rotate them fresh, so if we sell out we just keep rotating them depending on how the weather is,” Daniers said. “If the sun is out, we do really good.”

Despite the large sign with “Muchas Nuchas Empanadas” written on it, Daniers finds herself acting as a tour guide rather than a food server.

In addition to working at Muchas Nuchas, Daviers has previously worked in security. She held the two jobs simultaneously, but ended up quitting her security job for personal reasons.

“If I could do both, I’d love it because I don’t really see myself leaving Nuchas anytime soon,” she said.

Daniers’ favorite part about working at Muchas Nuchas is meeting interesting customers.

“A few young students came from Africa a few months ago, and they came back every morning for an empanada or croissant,” she said, “so I asked when they were leaving, and they told me they were going to Florida in a few days, and they’re going around the world.”

As some customers interested Daniers, she made an impact on them too.

“[I] don’t interact that much, but you’d be surprised that what you say goes a long way through their days,” she said.

Working in the food truck, she considers food service an integral part of her career and sees Muchas Nuchas as a step into the food industry.

Eventually, she wants to run her own food truck and sell sandwiches.

“Mainly grilled cheese and deli sandwiches, some ham in there and Philly cheesesteaks,” she said.

Her vision for the truck stems from her current love for grilled cheese sandwiches, her standing favorite being a grilled cheese with bacon, grilled onions, American cheese and wheat bread.

Daniers thoroughly enjoys every job she holds.

“I love anything that I do,” she said, “I’m passionate about whatever I do, so whether I’m working in a food truck or whether I’m working on a chair, I enjoy it.”

Times Square, with its fast-moving crowds and bright billboards, appears as something of a surprise to those who aren’t paying attention as they walk in from the adjoining side streets.

Its famous billboards tower over the street, with a Revlon ad attracting a large amount of attention. The screen displays images of part of the Times Square crowd, using feed from a street-level camera. As it zooms in, a kiss cam countdown appears, and people shove each other in an attempt to be on the screen.

In the open space across from the New York Police Department (NYPD) booth, people dressed as characters from Despicable Me, Sesame Street, Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse, Toy Story and other movies roam around to take pictures with tourists, specifically the younger ones, in hopes of receiving tips.

A person dressed as Olaf, from the Disney film “Frozen”, begins his day outside Toys “R” Us, and eventually makes his way to the opposite end of the square. Mickey Mouse and Iron Man also patrol over the area for a chance of making money.

Outside McDonald’s, a woman dressed as Minnie Mouse approaches tourists with her arms extended.

Whenever she poses for a picture with someone, another woman wearing an Elmo costume quickly joins in. Immediately after, both characters request a tip before moving on to find more visitors.

Under the Minnie Mouse costume is a middle-aged woman named Ana from the state of Puebla in east-central Mexico. She lives with her two daughters and two sons in New Jersey.

Ana usually arrives at Times Square at 1 p.m. after driving for approximately one hour, depending on traffic. Around 10 p.m. she heads home with another one hour drive.

Before deciding to dress as Minnie Mouse and work in Times Square, Ana worked in a factory as a housekeeper for various hotels.

According to Ana, between 400 and 500 people come to take a picture with her everyday.

“People come take a picture [but] pay no money,” she said.

The Times Square Website indicates that tourists who take pictures with the characters are not required to pay them as they are not officially licensed.

Ana makes up to $100 on some days; she often drives home with only $20 in her pocket. She relies on tips to make money to support her family.

Though her job does not have a steady pay and is far from her home, Ana enjoys dressing up as Minnie Mouse and taking pictures with tourists in Times Square.