CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Not all A-List celebrities celebrate their birthdays with invitation-only blowouts inside Beverly Hills mansions or Tuscan villas.
Some, like Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, blow out the candles at Red Lobster… in Chesterfield.
Gilligan, a Chesterfield native who attended L.C. Bird High School, celebrated with friends and family at the Red Lobster in Swift Creek on Tuesday night.
Gilligan, who turned 50 earlier this month, was one of three people at the table celebrating a birthday, according to server Vikki Maddox.
“He came in with his family,” Maddox said. “They seem like really nice, genuine people.”
When Maddox learned she had a celebrity at her table, she informed co-workers, who immediately Googled Gilligan.
Maddox said she was a big fan of Breaking Bad and let Gilligan know it.
“It was so good. That show was so good,” she said. “He thanked me for enjoying the show.”
After the meal (Gilligan ate snow crab legs), Maddox served a Breaking Bad-themed birthday cake from Merk’s Place to the table.
Afterwards, Gilligan posed for pictures.
While Breaking Bad was about an addictive drug, Maddox said she served Gilligan’s table the Red Lobster version of an addictive substance — two baskets of the restaurant’s famed Cheddar Bay Biscuits.