SPOKANE, Wash. — Hogan's Diner planned a surprise birthday party for one of its longest running customers. Sunday afternoon, Hogan's Diner employees turned the restaurant into a dinosaur themed birthday party.
"He's like the nicest man I've ever met in my life," Enam Zuniga said. Zuniga is the mastermind that planned the surprise down to a tee. The plan was to trick the man of the hour.
Zuniga said, "He thought we were going to take him out to dinner but we surprised him and brought him back to Hogan's."
Zuniga tricked Bruce Duncan into going out to a different restaurant for his birthday. Instead, she led him into Hogan's in a blindfold where 25 people were there to surprise him.
Duncan is a frequent customer of Hogan's Diner on the South Hill. He eats at the diner four to five times a week. He turned 86 years old this month.
When Duncan didn't have any plans for his birthday this year, the crew at Hogan's stepped in. "We all wanted to do it. Like it's just yes, definitely. We wanted to surprise him," Zuniga said.
"I still can't believe this many people came," Duncan said. "That warms my heart."
Duncan isn't just a favorite among the diner's staff. So too, are the children that come to the diner.
The staff describe Duncan as a grandpa figure to everyone. Zuniga said, "Anytime he sees a kid in the restaurant, he'll ride out to his car, and he's got a candy bag."
The party was just a small gesture, for the former elementary school teacher's big heart.
"I've been retired, what? 23 years now. So my goal is to live as long as I taught," Duncan said.
And there's hope for more birthday parties to come.
"Just thank you for all that know me and care," Duncan said.
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