The staff of the café are the people who help run the place. They consist of the manager, who takes orders (and requests) and manages the area, the helper, who serves as a waiter, and you (the player), who issues orders for food, decorates the place, gives permission to hold parties, and gets a bedroom on the second floor. In Disney Magical World 2, dancers, who dance in the café, were added, and the helper was renamed to "waiting staff".
The player can change the outfits of every staff member in both games. In Disney Magical World, the player can choose between a given male or female helper, or they can choose a self-created Mii to be the helper. In Disney Magical World 2, they can choose between a given male or female waiting staff, choose a self-created mii, or they can create a Disney Magical World avatar. For the dancers, the level of customization is the same as the customization of the waiting staff.
The manager is the one to talk to in order to do a café job such as making meals, viewing café requests, etc. The helper/waiting staff will be in the café serving food to customers. The dancers (who are only in Disney Magical World 2) will be dancing on the stage (that is only in Disney Magical World 2) in the café. The dancers do not dance during parties because it is possible that a dance show may be hosted. Certain dance shows will feature the dancers while some do not.