They applauded Kenneth Hogan when he walked into the room at Virtua Hospital Marlton.
The 58-year-old collapsed while having breakfast with his wife and daughter back in November at The Kettle and Grille.
The staff jumped into action and a couple in the restaurant started chest compressions as they waited for EMTs to arrive.
"Words can't express how grateful I am," Hogan said.
One of the bystanders, Tim Curtis, said he had only ever done CPR in a classroom, never in real life.
"I kind of picked him up out of the booth and we went straight down and we started performing two-person CPR like, right away," said Tim Curtis.
As for Hogan, his recovery continues and he was recently able to go back to work.