Waitresses currently have a suicide rate of 16.2/100,000 or twice the national female average of 8.0/100,000. Waitressing is often considered a high-stress occupation given characteristics such as client-centeredness, low skill & pay, and shift work. National epidemiological surveys of up to 104 occupations place waitresses near or at the top in substance abuse, a possible coping mechanism and predictor of suicide. Little is known about what distinguishes waitress suicides from other female suicides. The present study fille this gap. Methodology. Data are from the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System and refer to 30,570 suicides. Fifteen core predictors, representing psychiatric, social, and demographic factors, are drawn from previous work. Given that the study seeks to differentiate waitresses from other suicides, the dependent variable is a dichotomy (0,1), and logistic regression techniques are appropriate. RESULTS. After adjusting for the 15 predictors, waitress suicides were 2.03 times (CI: 1.34, 3.08) more apt to be marked by a substance abuse problem than other suicides. Other predictors included race, age, & a known mental illness. The model correctly classified 98.49% of the suicides. CONCLUSION. Substance abuse can serve as a key warning sign for waitress suicide prevention. This is the first study on the drivers of waitress suicide.