Britt and Will Salisbury took a chance. Their son (and Nerf fan) William Salisbury, age 3, really, really wanted the Nerf Ninja Warrior Challenge house that was in Dallas CASA‘s 2018 Parade of Playhouses. But then, that Bro’s Diner playhouse was awfully cute, too. And besides, dad Will was a chef at Bouillon. So, a decision was made to pool the family resources, with the majority ($200) put in the raffle for the Nerf house, and the rest going for the diner.
On Sunday, July 15, after all 10 playhouses had been perused for 17 days at NorthPark Center, plus a couple at Dallas CASA headquarters, NorthPark’s North Court was filled with around 75 munchkins and their adults to hear who would become “mini-homesteaders.”
With a drum roll, each chance ticket was announced to cheers from the jam-packed crowd.
After the last winner was announced, Greg May asked, “Are there any winners in the crowd?”
With that, Britt and Will waved their hands and stepped forward. One-year-old Sammy Salisbury was in Will’s arms, and William was being pushed in the stroller by Britt, whose mom Mary Alexander had been a CASA volunteer back in the early 2000s.
Sure, William was disappointed that the family didn’t get the Nerf house with its little Ford F-150, rock wall and rope ladder. Evidently William wasn’t Nerf’s only fan. It was voted the Fan Favorite. But Papa Will said their backyard was ready for the Diner.
Little did the Salisburys know that Crest Cadillac/Crest Infiniti Managing Partner/GM Mike Brosin, after whom the diner had been named, had bought $1,000 worth of raffle tickets in hopes of taking the little diner back to the dealership. The lucky Salisburys, on the other hand, had snapped up five tickets for the diner for just $20.