Mike’s Diner in Castaic was featured in a recently aired live-action Spongebob Squarepants episode called “SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout,” celebrating the show’s 20th anniversary. 

During the three-day shoot in March, the family-owned business closed its doors to customers. However, Manager Sandra Hamad and her mother stayed to keep an eye on the business. 

“We don’t like leaving the diner unattended,” Hamad said. “My mom and I stayed those three days and it was really fun.”

The episode, which aired on July 12, featured Tom Kenny (the voice of SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (the voice of Patrick) and more real-life versions of their Bikini Bottom character counterparts in a live-action scene from the special, according to the official Spongebob Squarepants YouTube page. 

In one scene, Fagerbakke sets out to order something on the menu at the “Trusty Slab,” but is indecisive about his order and ultimately fails to understand the menu. 

During the aforementioned scene, Hamad recalls that she and her mother were behind the scenes while it was being filmed. 

“We got to watch them do that scene, and they had to re-film because everyone was laughing so hard,” Hamad said. 

Customers who have visited the restaurant may have recognized the transformation of the interior of the diner. 

“They left us with blue walls for a week, but they came back and painted them white,” Hamad said. “It was all very different… Our bar was covered with their own wood bar. They actually also covered up the brick wall to make it look silver.” 

With the walls painted and the film set gone, Mike’s Diner is left with no physical indication that Spongebob and Patrick or their counterparts were ever really there. But the film crew did leave extra dining plates and baskets for the restaurant as keepsakes, according to Hamad.

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