David Letterman’s Surprise Grocery Store Shift Is Giving Lana Del Rey

David Letterman is following in Lana Del Rey’s footsteps by trading in his Hollywood job for a role as a grocery store clerk.

One day after the singer, 38, made headlines for working as a waitress at an Alabama Waffle House, Letterman, 76, surprised shoppers at an Iowa location of the grocery store chain Hy-Vee on Friday, July 21, and shared an inside look into his shift with fans online.

Letterman kicked things off by purchasing “cheesy breadsticks and flatbread pizza” while recalling his past job at an “independent-owned” grocery store in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. “And if I can give something back to the marketing community, I would like to do that. But I don’t have all day, of course,” he explained in a Sunday, July 23, Instagram video.

The comedian went on to bestow his grocery “wisdom and experience” onto two of the store’s workers by assisting them in everyday tasks such as cleaning up spills in the aisles and announcing that celery is “absolutely free” for the day via the store’s speaker system.

Utilizing his trademark sense of humor, Letterman opened a can of Campbell’s soup and drank straight it straight from the container while helping employees straighten canned goods. “That’s good,” he quipped before offering the can to one of his coworkers, who obliged and took a sip.

In addition to snacking on candy and baked goods, Letterman ended his “fantastic” Hy-Vee workday as a bag boy at checkout. “Man, I’m coming home with you,” he joked upon noticing a customer’s purchases include ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies.

Hy-Vee thanked Letterman by sharing a pic from his visit via Facebook. “You never know who you’ll bump into shopping the aisles at Hy-Vee,” the store captioned the Friday post. “Thanks for stopping by, David Letterman!”

While Letterman’s Hy-Vee visit coincided with attending a sporting event — a car from Letterman’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team participated in the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race at the Iowa Speedway on Sunday — Del Rey left fans scratching their heads with her recent shift at an Alabama diner.

The Grammy-nominated artist stopped to take pictures with fans while serving coffee, waiting tables and chatting with customers on Thursday, July 20. “Guess even Lana Del Rey needs a break from singing about summertime sadness,” one fan joked via Twitter (which has rebranded to X.) “But hey, at least now we know where to find her next time we’re craving some breakfast grub in Alabama!”

Several days before working her shift at Waffle House, Del Rey was spotted getting her nails done at a local Alabama nail salon.

Del Rey’s reps have not responded to Us Weekly’s request for comment about the meaning behind her Alabama visit.