300 Spur franchises around South Africa threw parties for underserved children in celebration of their 57th birthday, and it was the best day ever! We got to be at the Lone Creek Spur for the day, and it was joy all day long.
South Africa (07 November 2024) – Spur turned 57 on the 24th of October this year, and Good Things Guy was invited to their big birthday bash at the Lone Creek Spur in Mall of Africa. Imagine the party of your childhood dreams; add the iconic Spur atmosphere and the cherry on top, the Mzansi Youth Choir as the entertainers for the day. There was so much joy in the air, adding smiles to the faces of children who don’t usually have the privilege of attending a party at Spur.
“When the first Spur restaurant opened its doors in 1967, we wanted to create an entirely new kind of restaurant, one in which kids weren’t only welcomed but celebrated. We wanted eating out to be a fun and memorable experience for the whole family, especially on birthdays.” – Vuyo Henda, Chief Marketing Officer, Spur Corp
The creation of Spur is the reason so many of us have memories of fun birthday parties while growing up. Now imagine that vibe but for thousands of children from Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDs) and charitable organisations all around South Africa. For an action-packed day of joy, hundreds of Spur franchises opened their doors to children from varied backgrounds to host them for a day of fun and food.
Lone Creek Spur really pulled out all the stops. Tables were loaded with colouring-in pages, crayons, masks, party packs, sweets, and drinks to get the day started. As the children filed into the restaurant, their faces filled with wonder, and the previously quiet room started to hum with excited little voices.
Two ECDs were invited to the celebration at the Lone Creek branch; these were Soul Kidz and Diepsloot Oratile ECD Centre. With 200 children getting into their seats, the party began! A magician popped up, crafting balloon animals and adding some fun trickery to the day. A talented group of child-minders were tasked with painting faces at the tables next to mine. I watched ordinary children sit down at the tables, but fierce dinosaurs, beautiful princesses, dazzling butterflies and an array of famous superheroes left those seats and passed my table once the face painters were done. If it hadn’t been the most popular activity booth, I would have asked to be transformed into a sunflower for the day!
Once the Mzansi Youth Choir finished their exciting opening performance for the crowd gathering outside the Spur, waiters came out armed with delicious burgers and chips for the children. The adults had a mouth-watering array of Spur favourites, including crumbed mushrooms, ribs, calamari, chicken strips, garlic rolls and more! There was Joy in Every Bite! In fact, joy seemed to be the leading theme of the day!
The room was buzzing with joy in the forms of singing, dancing, laughter and lots and lots of fun screaming. After a delightful lunch, the waiters cleared the area, and a rumble began to grow. It was the tell-tale sound of the African Jungle, home to none other than the Lion King! The Mzansi Youth Choir filled the air with their renditions of the popular children’s movie, getting the crowd, which included the waiters, to sing along. Favourites Hakuna Matata and Circle of Life echoed through the crowd.
The show was truly something to behold, as the choir, dressed as animals, were all over the restaurant. But wait, was that Simba I saw? Yes, Simba was being played by the ever-adorable “feel-good kid” Desmond Koolen. He joined the choir for a chorus of “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” and I wasn’t sure who loved it more, the children or the waiters standing in the wings for their interactive birthday song.
The Lone Creek Spur became the stage for good, with children joining the dancing line around the restaurant, singing and dancing along to the new Spur birthday song. In the end, I saw several children reach out to hug the child-minders in thanks for such a fun experience. The day ended off with sparklers and cupcakes, and just before heading home, a thank you was delivered in one more song, but this time from the little children of the Soul Kidz ECD, who closed the day off by singing the National Anthem for the crowd.
In this spirit, and true to that vision, Spur’s Birthday enabled each of its 300 restaurants to host kids from their respective communities – especially those who don’t always get to be celebrated – to celebrate with Spur.
“It’s a great source of pride for us that Spur is at the heart of so many special memories,” says Henda, “memories of birthdays, first dates, career highlights, sporting wins, anniversaries, farewells, and everything in-between. We especially want everyone to know what a birthday at Spur feels like,” she said, “so we’re delighted to have ignited joy for kids across the country, as our gift to them”.
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