They should call the Duck’s Choice plate the Duck’s Choices, because when you order it you have to make a lot of them.

How do you want those two eggs? What side would you like? Do you prefer bacon, ham, patty sausage, bologna or smoked Conecuh? Will you have a pancake or French toast or biscuits and gravy, or upgrade to a waffle?

When it all lands on the table, the next decision may be whether you really need all this food. Even if the answer is no, you won’t feel like you overspent – without upgrades, you got it all for twelve bucks. And around you is the bustle of a classic all-American diner, with people tucking into everything from omelets to pancake stacks to country fried steak and eggs.

Welcome to Duck’s Diner in Gulf Shores. It’s the newest old favorite in town, and a shining illustration of how smoothly life can go on when a local institution with decades of history shuts down. The trick, apparently, is to replace it with another local institution with decades of history.

It caused quite a stir in mid-July when the operators of Hazel’s Nook announced that its closing was imminent. The Nook occupied a prime spot at the intersection of Ala. 59 and Fort Morgan Road and had been in business for 67 years, so it’s fair to say it was a landmark.

Owner Richard Schwartz told AL.com he had been developing plans to turn Hazel’s Nook into a third branch of Doc’s Seafood, which has two locations in Orange Beach. His sons run Doc’s Seafood Shack and Doc’s Seafood & Steakhouse. But then he got an offer from another Baldwin County restaurateur.

“I’m selling Hazel’s Nook because I’m 82 years old, and the opportunity showed itself,” Schwartz told AL.com.

It rapidly emerged that the buyer was Garrett Spence, whose family has owned Duck’s Diner in Orange Beach since 2014. It was immediately clear that Spence did not plan for the property to sit idle.

“Yeah, Hazel’s closed on Monday and Duck’s opened on Friday of that week,” he said. He said that Duck’s Diner retained most of the Hazel’s staff and brought in a few veterans from the Orange Beach restaurant to help smooth the transition.

To judge from a recent visit, the restaurant hardly seems to have missed a beat. On a Tuesday morning late in the summer season, after the start of school, and a time of day when one might have expected a lull between the breakfast rush and the lunch rush, Duck’s Diner was running nearly at capacity.

“Yeah, the locals like it a lot,” said Spence. “They lost the [breakfast] buffet but they have the mean & three lunch special. We’ve got that meat & three that comes with a bread and tea for $10.95. So they tear that up.”

Duck’s Diner, at both locations, is a prime example of the small-place-big-menu phenomenon. Despite the mainstream appeal of the Duck’s Choice, you can got a lot of different directions with your breakfast. There’s a Creole Omelet with Gulf shrimp ($15,) a Philly Cheese Omelet made with prime rib ($15), several varieties of French Toast including the deep-fried Banana Stuffed French Toast ($14), breakfast sandwiches including a BLT in which the “B” can be bologna if you so desire ($6), Wesley’s Fried Chicken With Gravy ($13.50, includes two eggs) and Corned Beef Hash (also $13.50 with two eggs).

This is a breakfast-oriented place: Both locations are open from 7 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. daily, with the breakfast menu served until closing. Lunch options hit the table at 10:30 a.m., including the aforementioned Meat & Three. (There’s also a two-veggie option for $9.95 and a four-veggie, no-meat option for $8.95.)

Additional lunch choices include an extensive slate of sandwiches and wraps, several salads and burgers. I found the Reuben on Rye ($12.50) to have plenty of character without going too heavy on the thousand-island dressing. I’m a sucker for a burger with an egg on it, so I tried the Sunrise Burger ($13.50): “8 oz. of hand pattied, pure angus beef, topped with egg cooked to order, bacon, American cheese, pickles.”

The burger was a delight: Aside from the egg, it was a basic, straight-ahead classic burger that impressed with its freshness. A few slices of pickle can’t save a bland burger, but they made this one sing.

“We press our own burgers in house,” said Spence. “fresh, never frozen. So our burgers sell a lot.”

A comparison of the two restaurants finds a similar vibe, though the older Duck’s Diner in Orange Beach gives more of a sense of history. Spence said that before his family bought it, it had prior history going back to 2001. You get a sense of that from the memorabilia on the walls.

By contrast, the interior of the new Duck’s Diner has some blank spaces. No doubt the duck-themed artifacts will gradually fill them in.

“Yeah, we’ll build that up over time,” assured Spence.

For now, though, he’s pleased with the response.

“We do a good breakfast and then we fill up again for lunch,” he said. “It’s taken off a lot quicker than I expected it to.”

There’s no doubt in his mind who to thank for that, he said.

“The locals are really picking up on it quick,” he said. “It’s filling up almost every day. If you quote me on anything, say that we want to thank the locals for how much support they’ve shown us and it’s really blown us away, with how quick it’s taken off.”

Duck’s Diner is at 120 E. Fort Morgan Road in Gulf Shores and 4560 East St. (just off Canal Road, east of The Wharf) in Orange Beach. For full information, including menus, visit https://ducksdiner.com/.