‘Spokane’s official ambassador’ celebrates birthday at favorite hamburger joint
After decades of standing outside of Dick’s Hamburgers, asking for change for a burger and greeting everyone as they walked by, Vinny Piper decided to celebrate his 57th birthday at the food stand he loves most.
Piper was described as “Spokane’s official ambassador” by birthday party attendee Deb Hunt because he always stood on the street and waved at cars.
“He has this heart of gold and is filled with love. This used to be his hangout spot,” Hunt said “He is a wonderful spirit, loving, kind … and he always meets and greets with a hug.”
Hunt said she met Piper, who is developmentally disabled, in the 1980s, and his warm smile is the best part of knowing him. She is just one of many in the Spokane community who has the opportunity to enjoy Piper’s smile and joy.
Piper’s legal guardian, Jana Worthington, said she will post on Facebook about events Piper will be attending, and community members will comment on her posts discussing where they last saw him.
“It’s like this crazy ‘Where’s Waldo’ sort of thing with Vinny,” Worthington said.
While he doesn’t visit as often since moving to Spokane Valley, Piper said he loves Dick’s because he has eaten there for so long. It used to be his favorite place in the ’80s and ’90s and will continue to be his favorite food spot.
Jhon Goodwin, a joint coordinator for the party, said when he met Piper in the late ’80s, he would be at Dick’s every Friday and Saturday night without fail.
Piper would lay out the change donated by community members who knew and loved him to make sure he could buy some of his favorite food while being the epitome of sunshine and saying “Hi buddy” to anyone who walked by, Goodwin said.
Former taxi driver Brian Ang would drive Piper to and from Dick’s when he was in the taxi industry over a decade ago.
Ang said he was always chatty and smiling, and even when Ang was not driving Piper around, they still would sometimes end up at the hamburger joint together, and Piper would chat with other customers.
“Everybody knew him,” Ang said. “(If you) come to Dick’s, you’re most likely bound to run into Vinny. This is his favorite place to hang out all day, even late at night.”
Piper embraced many of his old friends at the party, giving them high-fives, hugs and handshakes. He told them how much he missed them.
He also was excited for his food. He couldn’t decide between fish and chips or pizza for his birthday meal, so he ordered both, and he said it all tasted good.