SOUTH FORSYTH — A popular south Forsyth restaurant known for helping the community will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on Saturday.

The festivities at Norman’s Landing will include 10 percent off food and other discounts, such as $1 oysters and shrimp. There also will be a sports cage and a bounce house, and owner Bill Norman will be sitting in a dunk tank. Proceeds benefit the Forsyth County Humane Society.

Norman, an Atlanta native, frequented Forsyth County and Lake Lanier during his childhood. He always had the aspiration of opening a restaurant near the lake. So when that time came, he knew exactly where to look.

When Norman opened the eatery on Peachtree Parkway in 1995, the county’s population was about 60,000. The only businesses near Norman’s Landing were a Waffle House and gas station. However, he knew south Forsyth was the perfect location.

“I came upon this property and I looked at it and said this is the end of Peachtree and 400. This has got to be a good spot,” Norman said. “Everybody said ‘Bill, you’re crazy. What are you doing?’”

Two decades later, Norman’s Landing is an active part of Forsyth’s growing community of more than 200,000.

Sandy Ragan has been dining at Norman’s Landing since she moved to south Forsyth in 1996. At the time, the restaurant was one of the few dining options near her home.

Ragan has been a frequent guest ever since, praising the “family atmosphere” at the restaurant.

“Everyone here has been here forever, the staff, the wait staff especially, which is rare in the restaurant business,” she said. “When I walk in there, they know who I am because I’ve been there so much.”

She said the restaurant’s consistent quality and friendly service have contributed to its success.

“It’s nice to have a family-owned restaurant that’s not a chain and that’s lasted for 20 years,” she said. “… It speaks volumes right there as to why they’re still in business today.”

Ragan has also participated in several of the restaurant’s community fundraisers, which Norman said were one of the main reasons he wanted to open a business.

He added that he has “always had a big peanut butter heart” and wanted to give back to the county. The restaurant has followed through on that goal, having raised nearly $2 million for local nonprofits.

Norman’s Landing has donated $430,000 to United Way and raised more than $500,000 for the community through Norman’s home in Costa Rica, where some 170 groups have stayed.

The restaurant’s biannual ping pong tournaments have raised about $270,000 for various groups, ranging from the American Red Cross and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to the Miracle League of Forsyth County.