9/11: The inside story of the restaurant workers on the top floor, 25 years on - CNA
Twenty-five years ago, 73 employees of the top-floor restaurant in the World Trade Center’s North Tower were trapped and left fighting for their lives on 9/11. Many of them were Asian migrants, seeking a better future. This is their story.
A group shot of staff at Windows on the World, the iconic restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
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Derrick A Paulo 11 Sep 2026 06:00AM (Updated: 11 Sep 2026 07:05AM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST NEW YORK: On Sep 11, 2001, Jupiter Yambem needed to be at work at about 6am. As he left home, the 41-year-old kissed his wife goodbye. He always did.
What was different that Tuesday from most of the days that had come before was the early start. He used to work the night shift, leaving home in the afternoon and returning at 2am or later.
His son, Santi, was five at the time. His wife, Nancy Yambem, was working full-time.
“I felt like a lot of that child rearing was on me. So about a week before 9/11, we decided together that it’d be best if he worked …” she trailed off, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less “… if he worked the morning shift, because he wanted to spend more time with his son.”
He was a banquet manager at Windows on the World, the dining and conference complex sitting at the top of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
Often profiled in magazines, it was world-famous for its food and views. The whole of New York City could be seen from its windows.
New York was where Jupiter built his career after coming to America at age 21 from Manipur state in northeast India. Young and ambitious, he worked in Manhattan’s biggest hospitality venues before reaching the jewel in its culinary crown.
“He loved his job,” said Nancy, 65. “He loved doing it well. Between celebrity events, weddings, elaborate affairs, he made sure that everyone that he served and that his staff served had the ultimate best experience that they could.”
The Windows complex occupied 50,000 sq ft of space, nearly the size of an American football field. On the 107th floor were two restaurants, a wine cellar and a bar named the Greatest Bar on Earth.
On the 106th floor were conference rooms, banquet halls and the company’s corporate offices. In total, the complex was staffed by over 400 people.
As a former Windows hostess, Nathalie Tolentino remembers that when people walked in, many of them would “immediately run to the windows to look at the city”. She said: “It was magical. You could see it in their eyes.”
She was working the night before 9/11 and helped to close the restaurant. “I didn’t think that was going to be the last time I’d see the restaurant as it was: beautiful, on top of the world,” she recalled.
The next morning, another Windows employee, Chen Yu Li, was planning to leave home 30 minutes early to reach her office, where she worked as a secretary, at 8.30am. Her daughter, nine, was waiting for her as she got ready.
“She had very beautiful long hair, and she asked, ‘Mummy, can you braid my hair, please?’” Yu Li recounted.
“I just took my time. By the time I looked at the time, it was almost … my regular time to (go to) work.”
At 8.46am, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower, ripping through the 93rd to 99th floors, leaving 73 restaurant workers trapped above the impact zone.
The documentary, Windows On The World, tells the story of those whose lives have irrevocably changed and those who narrowly escaped.
