A beloved server left a Peoria Denny's restaurant. Lots of his customers are trying to find him

SAM DINGMAN: An intriguing thread on the Peoria Arizona Neighbors Facebook page recently caught our eye here at The Show.

A woman named Gina Robertson had posted about her favorite server at a local Denny’s. The server, Michael, had been her family’s favorite for years — whenever they went to the restaurant, which was often, they always asked to sit in his section. But the last time they went to Denny’s, Michael was gone. No one seemed to know what had become of him.

“If you are/were a regular and know where he is working now,” Gina wrote on Facebook, “we’d love to know so we can support him, no matter the restaurant.”

Gina’s post prompted hundreds of replies, nearly all of them expressing shock and confusion. Michael, it turns out, had many diehard fans, all of whom were eager to know what had happened.

The outpouring of love was remarkable — though, according to Gina, not necessarily surprising. From her family’s first visit to Denny’s, she told The Show, there was something special about Michael.

Gina Robertson

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GINA ROBERTSON: He remembered our orders. By the time we sat down, he'd have our drinks there. One of my daughters has celiac, and he would always go the extra mile to make sure that she had something equitable that she could eat, even if it wasn't an option directly listed on that food item. He just always seemed to go the extra mile with a smile on his face. You know, always greeting us with fist bumps and happy.

And I could see that in the entire section. The other section of the restaurant might be less full, whereas Michael's, there was always people coming in and out because they would request Michael. And we just continued to go to him for about 12 years.

DINGMAN: On the Facebook post that you made, there are, as you know, hundreds of comments from other people who love Michael. One of them, Debbie, I hope I'm saying this last name correctly, Reisinger, she actually uploaded a video that she took of Michael back in 2014 dancing outside the restaurant. He's got his uniform on, he's got his apron around his waist.

She has also added some music to the video, but you can hear a little of his voice and how the people around him are reacting. I thought we could listen to it together for just a moment.

DINGMAN: What do you hear in that?

ROBERTSON: I hear his joy. He just has that personality that brings life to those around him.

DINGMAN: Did he ever dance for you?

ROBERTSON: No, he never danced.

DINGMAN: OK, OK. [LAUGHS]

ROBERTSON: But I will tell you kind of a story that when we started going there, my oldest was probably about 10, and she went there one time when she was about 17 with a couple of guy friends. Not boyfriends, but guy friends, when she was in high school. And the two young men started acting a little inappropriately. Not towards her, but just in general. ... And Michael went over and checked to make sure that she was OK.

DINGMAN: Wow. That makes me think about the fact that when you have that kind of relationship with a server at a restaurant, which — my family had a similar dynamic when I was a kid with a woman named Maria who used to work at this pizza restaurant. People like Michael and Maria sort of become a member of your extended family in this way.

ROBERTSON: Absolutely, yes. Because he, you know, he saw my girls grow up. My girls are now almost 21 and almost 25. And everybody knew Michael. And knew that we cared about Michael, and Michael cared about us. And it was just a sense of we knew we could be ourselves with him.

DINGMAN: How much did he share with you, if at all, about his own life? Did he ever talk to you about his life outside the restaurant?

ROBERTSON: Somewhat. He was definitely a Cardinals fan. Spoke about his mom a lot. You know, he had a little salsa side business.

DINGMAN: Oh, like salsa dancing?

ROBERTSON: No, like salsa salsa. ... The food salsa.

DINGMAN: Salsa. Really? ... I assume dancing because of the video clip of him dancing. But that's really interesting. Did you ever try the salsa?

ROBERTSON: We did, and it was delicious.

DINGMAN: OK. All right. So let me ask you a little bit about this thread that you started and the life that it's taken on.

ROBERTSON: I did not expect it at all.

DINGMAN: What have you made of all of the hundreds and hundreds of comments that have come in from other people who knew and really seem to have a treasured relationship with Michael, as you do?

ROBERTSON: Well, what I saw when I would read through the posts are two things. One is either somebody had also had Michael as a favorite server and were wanting to know where he was so that they as well could go support him wherever he was.

Or there were those people that, "You know what? I don't know who Michael is, but tell me where Michael is, because if this many people are talking about him, then he's obviously a wonderful server."

DINGMAN: Yeah. And there's also at least one person on the thread, somebody named Mario, who is asking if anybody had found Michael, because he wants Michael to come work at his restaurant.

ROBERTSON: Exactly. I saw that as well.

DINGMAN: So the other thing that's important to note here right, Gina? Is that as of this recording, no one knows where exactly Michael has gone. He's not working at the Denny's anymore. And the main thing that's happening on this thread is people are trying to figure out what has become of him.

ROBERTSON: Yes. And right now it's at a standstill. I was told by a Denny's employee that he has gone to a Garcia's restaurant. I've called a couple of them. Nobody has heard of him. So at this point, I don't know where Michael is. I hope he's OK.

DINGMAN: Can I ask you, one of the interesting little subtleties I thought of the thread of people who have been trying to track him down is at least a couple people seemed to have a phone number for Michael. And they had texted him. One of them said they had texted him a screenshot of this Facebook thread of all these people singing his praises. ... And none of them had heard back.

ROBERTSON: That's concerning. But, of course, who knows what's going on in Michael's life? I would never want to intrude on his life. And because this is literally just a, you know, let's go find him and support him if he's a server at another restaurant. However, if he wants to be left alone, we can do that as well.

DINGMAN: That was one of the things I was wondering, Gina. I wonder what you make of that? Do you think it's possible that having spent so much time sharing a version of himself with so many people, maybe he doesn't want to be found.

ROBERTSON: Exactly. And if that's his wish, then, you know, and if nobody ever finds him, then, honestly, I just wish him the best in his life. Hope that the Cardinals can turn it around and be a winning team at some point.

DINGMAN: [LAUGHS] Yes.

ROBERTSON: But, you know, I just want him to be happy.

DINGMAN: So, last question for you, Gina. This discussion, as we've been mentioning, is unfolding on the Peoria Arizona Neighbors Facebook page. How would you compare this to other conversations and debates that happen there?

ROBERTSON: In our current political climate, there has been some very aggressive viewpoints. ... So as I think that somebody mentioned it on the thread, this is the most wholesome post they've ever seen ... on the website, on the Facebook group.

DINGMAN: Another user wrote, "My faith in humanity has been restored."

ROBERTSON: Absolutely. It's just given people a sense of goodness. If this thread, even if we aren't able to find Michael, brings a sort of peace to people. That's a wonderful side effect.

DINGMAN: Well, Michael, if you hear this and you would like to reach out, we would love to talk to you. And I know that Gina and many others would be very happy to come sit in your section if you are still working as a server. But more than that, just to know that you're OK. ...

ROBERTSON: We miss you, Michael.

DINGMAN: In the meantime, I've been speaking with Gina Robertson, who started this thread on the Peoria, Arizona Neighbors Facebook page, which is ongoing as of this recording. Gina, thank you for talking to us.

ROBERTSON: Thank you for having me.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to an editing error, a photo caption was updated to correct the spelling of Gina Robertson's name.