HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American
table service The foodservice (US English) or catering (British and Commonwealth English) Industry (economics), industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, grocery stores, school ...
diner-style
restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...
. It operates over 1,400
restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, and several other international locations. Founded in 1953 as a donut stand in
Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 82,496 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west, northwest and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on t ...
, under the name Danny's Donuts, the chain has grown to one of the largest full-service family restaurant chains in the United States.


Description

Denny's started
franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busines ...
in 1963, and most Denny's restaurants are now franchisee-owned.
Franchise agreement A franchise agreement is a legal, binding contract between a franchisor and franchisee. In the United States franchise agreements are enforced at the State level. Prior to a franchisee signing a contract, the US Federal Trade Commission regulates i ...
s require 24/7 service in most locations. Because of the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant industry in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the United States restaurant industry via government closures, resulting in layoffs of workers and loss of income for restaurants and owners and threatening the survival of independent restaurants as a category. Aft ...
, many Denny's had to close for the first time and may now have limited hours of operation.


History

The restaurant originally opened as Danny's Donuts by Richard Jezak and Harold Butler. It opened at the intersection of Bellflower and Del Amo boulevards in 1954,
Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 82,496 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west, northwest and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on t ...
. In 1956, a year after Richard Jezak departed from the six-store chain, Harold Butler changed the concept, shifting it from a donut shop to a coffee shop with store No. 8. Danny's Donuts was renamed Danny's Coffee Shops and changed its operation to 24 hours. During the 1950s, Los Angeles architects Armet & Davis created a new prototype building with a boomerang-shaped roof that became a model for stores built nationwide. They also designed a second prototype in 1965 with a zigzag shingled roof. These designs enabled
Googie architecture Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, Jet aircraft, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popu ...
to spread across America. Many Denny's locations were built near freeway off-ramps, leading to increasingly larger signage. In 1959, Butler changed the name from Danny's Coffee Shops, to avoid confusion with the Los Angeles restaurant chain Coffee Dan's, to Denny's Coffee Shops. In 1961, Denny's Coffee Shops was renamed Denny's. The business continued to expand, and by 1981, there were over 1,000 Denny's restaurants in all 50 U.S. states. The company absorbed many former
Sambo's Sambo's was an American restaurant chain, started in 1957 by Sam Battistone Sr. and Newell Bohnett in Santa Barbara, California. Though the name was taken from portions of the names of its two founders, the chain also associated with '' The Stor ...
restaurants and used their mid-century design in some of their restaurants. In 1977, Denny's introduced the still-popular Grand Slam breakfast. In 1994, Denny's became the largest corporate sponsor of
Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...
, a national charity. All but six Denny's locations closed for the first time ever on Christmas 1988; many restaurants were built without locks, and some had reportedly lost their keys. Denny's main offices were in
La Mirada, California La Mirada is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities, on the border with Orange County, California, Orange County. The population was 48,008 at the 2020 ...
, until 1989. At that time, the office was first moved to
Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...
, and subsequently moved to the
Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 11th ...
headquarters of the parent company Trans World Corporation (TW Corporation) that acquired Denny's in 1987. In 1992,
private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...
firm,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...
acquired a 47% interest in TW Corporation, later known as The Flagstar Companies, and encouraged the company to sell non-core businesses. On July 12, 1997, Flagstar, Denny's parent company, filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
. Eventually, Denny's operations dominated the parent company to such an extent that The Flagstar Companies changed its name again to Denny's Corporation. It trades on the
NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
under the DENN symbol. In 1994, Denny's began renovating its stores with a lighter color scheme; select locations also began serving
Baskin-Robbins Baskin-Robbins, Inc. is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake specialty store, specialty shops owned by Inspire Brands. Baskin-Robbins was formed in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California.Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, Texas, was the test market for the chain-wide renovation. Along with their famous breakfasts and
hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...
s, Denny’s introduced the Beyond Burger as a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
alternative in 2020. It was discontinued in 2023 and replaced with Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Patty. Denny's opened its first restaurant in Australia in December 1982, in the suburb of Forest Hill,
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. The Australian franchise was owned by
Ansett Australia Ansett Australia, originally Ansett Airways, was a major Australian airline group based in Melbourne, Victoria. The company operated domestically within Australia, and from the 1990s, to destinations in Asia. Following 65 years of operation, ...
and expanded into other states throughout the 1980s. However, changing tastes of the Australian consumer led to the sale of the chain in 1989 and its closure shortly after that.


Denny's Diner prototype

Some Denny's restaurants employ the "diner" concept, using modular buildings resembling classic 1950s diners. In May 1997, the first Denny's Classic Diner was opened in
Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...
. The diner concept was created by Ron, Marcia, Marc, and Todd York, the principals of Denny's Franchisee SWFRI, Inc. Today, there are about 40 Denny's Diners in the United States. Additionally, several diners resemble modular buildings but are actually stick construction.


Domestic and international growth

In July 2010, Denny's presence in the United States saw a major expansion when Pilot Flying J started opening Denny's locations inside their Flying J-branded
truck stop A truck stop (known as a service station in the United Kingdom, a travel center by major chains in the United States and a roadhouse in rural Australia) is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made f ...
locations. 123 Pilot Flying J conversions were eventually completed. In June 2012, Denny's opened a location in the
Las Américas International Airport Las Américas International Airport (, or AILA) is an international airport located in Punta Caucedo, near Santo Domingo and Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. The airport is run by Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (AERODOM), a private corpor ...
, its first location in an airport and its first in the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
. In July 2012, Denny's announced it had signed an agreement with a franchisee to open 50 restaurants in southern China over 15 years, beginning in 2013. This was Denny's largest international development deal at that time. However, the deal was cancelled before any restaurants opened. On August 29, 2014, Denny's opened its first location in New York City, with some patrons waiting as long as two hours before its official opening to eat there. Located in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
, the location is designed to be more upscale than the typical Denny's, serves alcohol, and offers a location-exclusive $300 Grand Cru Slam, which is the standard Grand Slam Breakfast served with a bottle of
Dom Pérignon Dom Pérignon ( , ) is a brand of vintage Champagne. It is named after Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who was an important quality pioneer for Champagne wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover the Champagne method for makin ...
. It closed in January 2018. In November 2017, it was announced that Denny's was to open its first UK restaurant in
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
in December 2017 as part of Parc Tawe's 15 million redevelopment scheme, occupying a 4,000 sq ft unit. The restaurant opened on Christmas Day 2017 for the homeless people in the city of Swansea, although the official opening to the general public was on December 27. In 2022, Denny's acquired Orlando-based chain Keke's Breakfast Cafe for $82.5 million. During an October 22, 2024, investor day, Denny's announced it would expand Keke's nationwide while closing 150 Denny’s restaurants in the following 12–18 months. At the end of 2023 there were 1,602 Denny's restaurants. With the company owning and operating 66 with the remaining 1,582 under a
franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busines ...
model; 1,445 of Denny's 1,602 restaurants are located in the United States (including the
District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
), 84 in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, 15 in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, 15 in
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, 12 in
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, 7 in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, 6 in
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, 5 in the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
, 2 in
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
, 3 in
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
, 2 in
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, 3 in
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
, 1 in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, 1 in
Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...
and 1 in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Denny's previously had a location in Chile. The U.S. states with the most Denny's restaurants are
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
(363), Texas (204) and Florida (124). There are also about 578 Denny's restaurants in Japan operated independently under a license by a subsidiary of
Seven & I Holdings Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (株式会社セブン&アイ・ホールディングス, ) is a Japanese diversified retail holdings company headquartered in Nibanchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Nibanchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo. On September 1, 2005, it was esta ...
since 1984. The first Denny's restaurant in Japan opened on the first floor of the
Ito-Yokado is a Japanese Hypermarket, general merchandise, shopping center, grocery store and department store originally founded in 1920. In 2005, it was reorganized, as part of a corporate restructuring, as a subsidiary of the Seven & I Holdings Co. ...
in Kamiōoka ( :ja:上大岡),
Kōnan-ku, Yokohama is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 221,536 and a density of 11,150 persons per km2. The total area was 19.87 km2. Located in the southeastern par ...
,
Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
on April 27, 1974, however, it closed on March 20, 2017, on account of the demolition of the building of Ito-Yokado.


Health inspection records

In October 2004, ''
Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...
'' aired a segment titled "Dirty Dining", in which the ten most popular family and
casual dining Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the US, while categor ...
chains in the United States were examined: Applebee's, Bob Evans, Chili's, Denny's, IHOP,
Outback Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse is an American chain of Australian-themed casual dining restaurants, serving American cuisine, based in Tampa, Florida. The chain has over 1,000 locations in 23 countries throughout North America, South America, Asia, and Aus ...
, Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesday, TGI Friday's, and Waffle House. As part of the segment, the producers examined the health inspection records for 100 restaurants over 15 months and totaled all of the critical violations that could result in adverse effects on the customers' health. Denny's had the fewest violations, averaging fewer than one violation per restaurant. Denny's attributes this relative success to its adherence to the principles of
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP (), is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological hazard, biological, chemical hazard, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished ...
.


Animal welfare efforts

By 2026, Denny's is trying switching to 100% cage-free eggs. The
Humane Society of the United States Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society International (HSI), is a global nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scop ...
is shareholder in Denny’s and has tried to make Denny's treat animals, primarily
pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
, better and remove them from gestation crates. However, the company removed its initial commitment and is now facing a public awareness campaign. In 2024, the Humane Society of the United States filed a shareholder proposal requesting that the company reinstate its deadline to eliminate gestation crates from its supply chain. Despite Denny's prior animal welfare commitments, this proposal was denied and no further time-bound targets have been set.


Controversies


Discrimination

Denny's has been involved in discrimination lawsuits involving food servers denying or providing inferior service to racial minorities, especially
black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
customers. A 1993 incident occurred when six black
United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security tasked with conducting criminal investigations and providing protection to American political leaders, thei ...
agents visited a Denny's restaurant in
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
, Maryland. They were forced to wait an hour for service while their white companions were seated immediately. In San Jose, California, in 1991, several black teenagers were refused service unless they agreed to pay in advance. In 1994, Denny's settled a
class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
lawsuit filed by black customers who had been refused service, forced to wait longer, or pay more than white customers. The $54.4 million settlement was the largest under federal public accommodations laws established thirty years earlier. In 1995, a black Denny's customer in
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
, California, was told that he and his friends had to pay upfront at the counter upon ordering their meals. He questioned the waitress: "We asked the waitress about it and she said that some black guys who had been in the restaurant earlier had made a scene and walked out without paying their bill. So the manager now wanted all blacks to pay up front." In 1997, six
Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for ...
students from
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
visited a local Denny's restaurant late at night. They waited more than half an hour as white patrons were regularly served, seated, and offered more helpings. They complained to management and their server but were forced to leave the establishment by two security guards called by Denny's management. Then, according to the students, a group of white men came out of Denny's, attacked them and shouted racial epithets. Several of the students were beaten unconscious. After the $54.4 million settlement, Denny's created a racial sensitivity training program for all employees. Denny's has also made efforts at improving its
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
image by featuring African-Americans in their commercials, including one featuring Sherman Hemsley and
Isabel Sanford Isabel Sanford (born Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford; August 29, 1917 – July 9, 2004) was an American stage, film, and television actress and comedian best known for her role as Louise "Weezy" Mills Jefferson on the CBS sitcoms ''All in the Fam ...
, actors from the popular ''
The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...
'' television series. In 2001, Denny's was chosen by ''Fortune'' magazine as the "Best Company for Minorities." In 2006 and 2007, Denny's topped '' Black Enterprise's'' list of "Best 40 Companies for Diversity." In 2014, a Denny's location in
Deming, New Mexico Deming (, ''DEM-ing'') is a city in Luna County, New Mexico, Luna County, New Mexico, United States, west of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Las Cruces and north of the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border. The population was 14,758 as of the ...
, was subjected to a discrimination claim by an
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
group, alleging that wait staff used
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
slurs and refused to serve a group of gay, lesbian, and
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
customers who were attending a
gay pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...
celebration. One year later, Denny's agreed to donate $13,000 to Deming Pride, pay $3,250 to a female customer who was subjected to abusive behavior by wait staff, and retrain its employees about discrimination policies. In 2017, the staff at a Denny's in
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, was accused of making an Indigenous woman pay for her meal before it was served. After the customer left, restaurant staff called police to report the incident, alleging that the patron had a sharp metal object in her pocket.


Animal cruelty allegations

In 2023, the global animal rights group Animal Equality began a public information campaign regarding Denny's failure to eliminate gestation crates for pigs from its supply chain.


Sudden closures

In June 2017, eight Denny's locations in
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, including
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...
and
Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...
, abruptly shut down due to a franchise owner failing to pay nearly $200,000 in back taxes as well as over $30,000 in sales tax from the previous year. In addition, several employees claimed there were issues with accounts not being paid, bounced checks, and paychecks not arriving on time. As a result of the seizure of the eight Denny's locations by the
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
, numerous employees were left without employment and claimed that no advance warning was given regarding the sudden closures. The franchise owner responsible for the closures immediately fled the state of Colorado. On January 31, 2024, a Denny's location in
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, permanently closed after 54 years of operation, citing the "safety and well-being" of customers and employees.


Ghost kitchens

With the advent of delivery services such as
Grubhub Grubhub Inc. (stylized in all caps) is an American online and mobile prepared food ordering and delivery platform based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2004, it was a subsidiary of the Dutch company Just Eat Takeaway since 2021. In 2024, Wond ...
,
DoorDash DoorDash, Inc. is an American company operating online food ordering and food delivery. It trades under the symbol DASH. With a 56% market share, DoorDash is the largest food delivery platform in the United States. It also has a 60% market sha ...
and
Uber Eats Uber Eats is an online food ordering and delivery platform launched by the company Uber in 2014. It is operational in over 6,000 cities in 45 countries as of 2021. History Uber Eats' parent company Uber was founded in 2009 by Garrett ...
, Denny's has begun operating many of their own Ghost kitchens, such as ''The Meltdown,'' a late-night melt "virtual brand." ''The Meltdown'' serves Denny's menu items at an up-charge. Where the "Brisket Melt" is $16.69, ''The Meltdown's'' "Giddy Up Melt," was $18.72 in 2024, despite being the same sandwiches. Ghost kitchens have been described as a cynical ploy by big-brand restaurants to garner a new younger consumer base.


See also

* List of pancake houses


Notes


References

* (previously published in 1986 as ''Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture'' ) *


External links

* {{Authority control Restaurants established in 1954 Companies based in South Carolina Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997 Fast-food chains of the United States Pancake houses Companies based in Spartanburg, South Carolina 1954 establishments in California Virtual restaurant Fast-food franchises