Waiter Killed In Dupont Circle on Walk Home

Alstad worked at Annie's Paramount Steak House on 17th Street NW. "Everyone knew him," manager Leigh Hendricks said. "He would sit down at the tables and talk to people. He would run around here singing. Customers loved him." (Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)

"It's really tough," Green said. "I'm just trying to keep occupied, but today's pretty slow, so it's hard."

Alstad, a native of Moorhead, Minn., studied English and history at Carleton College and received a master's degree from Northwestern University, friends and family members said.

He went on to work for the U.S. Information Service, which took him to places such as Zaire, they said. But Alstad soon tired of working in the government and instead decided to become a waiter so that he could travel more frequently, said his sister Lynnette M. Bock, 61, of Summerfield, Fla.

Alstad lived in Minneapolis, San Francisco and Australia, where he worked as a waiter, before moving to Washington in the early '90s. He often took vacations to places such as India and China.

"He always said happiness was a plane ticket in his pocket to somewhere," Bock said.

Frank Krise, 73, who has worked at Annie's for 41 years, said he often sat at outdoor cafes with Alstad and listened to fascinating stories about his travels. "He was one of the nicest, kindest guys you would ever meet," Krise said.

Carlton Lamb, the building manager in the 20th Street apartment where Alstad lived, said Alstad often fed neighborhood homeless people and allowed them into his apartment to shower. "He was just a perfect tenant, very nice," Lamb said.

The crime raised concerns at Annie's and other restaurants.

Brian D. Sparrow, 24, a bartender at a nearby restaurant, said two men tried to accost him about three weeks ago in the same block about 3 a.m. as he walked home from work. Sparrow said the men chased him, but he got away. He now carries pepper spray.

"I've got to work tonight, and I'll probably just end up leaving my money [at the restaurant] and picking it up tomorrow," Sparrow said.

In addition to his sister, Alstad has an older brother, three nephews and three nieces. The family is planning a memorial service for him in Minnesota.