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This article is about the restaurant chain. For other uses, see Dennys (disambiguation).

Denny's
Denny's
FormerlyDanny's Donuts, Danny's Coffee Shops, Denny's Coffee Shops
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: DENN
Russell 2000 Component
IndustryRestaurants
Genrediner
Founded1953; 71 years ago (1953) (as Danny's Donuts)
Lakewood, California, US
FoundersHarold Butler
Richard Jezak.
HeadquartersSpartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.
Number of locations
1,702[1]
RevenueDecrease US$ $541.39 million (2019)[2]
Increase US$164.98 million (2019)[2]
Increase US$117.41 million (2019)[2]
Total assetsIncrease US$460.387 million (2019)[2]
Total equityDecrease US$(−138.064) million (2019)[2]
Number of employees
3,100 (2020) [3]
Websitewww.dennys.com

Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries.[note 1]

Originally opened as a coffee shop under the name Danny's Donuts, Denny's is now known for always being open and serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner around the clock. Denny's does not close on holidays and nights, except where required by law. Many of the restaurants are located in proximity to freeway exits, bars, and in-service areas. Denny's started franchising in 1963, and most Denny's restaurants are now franchisee-owned.[4]

History

First Denny's location in Lakewood California, 1953

Denny's was founded by Harold Butler and Richard Jezak, who opened Danny's Donuts in Lakewood, California in 1953.[4] In 1956, a year after Jezak's departure from the then-6-store chain, 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 all over the country. They also designed a second prototype in 1965 with a zigzag shingled roof. These designs enabled googie architecture to spread across America. Many Denny's locations were built near freeway offramps, leading to larger and larger signage.[5] In 1959, to avoid confusion with Los Angeles restaurant chain Coffee Dan's, Butler changed the name from Danny's Coffee Shops to Denny's Coffee Shops. In 1961, Denny's Coffee Shops was renamed Denny's.[4] The business continued to expand, and by 1981, there were over 1,000 restaurants in all 50 U.S. states. The company absorbed many of the old Sambo's 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, a national charity. All but six Denny's closed for the first time ever on Christmas 1988; many of the restaurants were built without locks, and some of them had reportedly lost their keys.[6]

Denny's main offices were located in La Mirada, California, until 1989. At that time, the office was first moved to Irvine, California and subsequently moved to the Spartanburg, South Carolina, headquarters of the parent company Trans World Corporation (TW Corporation) that acquired Denny's in 1987. In 1992, private equity firm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquired a 47% interest in TW Corporation, later known as The Flagstar Companies, and encouraged the company to sell non-core businesses.[7] 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 now trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol DENN.

From 1990 through 1996, Denny's offered a free meal to anyone on his/her birthday. The offer included a limited number of meal options from a special birthday menu. The promotion began in the 1990s; though occasionally individual franchises had offered it before that time. Because too many people went to Denny's more than once on their birthdays, the management had to restrict the rules to only one meal per person, per birthday, only on the actual birthday, with proof of legal birth date required, such as a driver's license, other photo ID, or a birth certificate. Since 2009, the restaurant chain has offered a free Birthday Build-Your-Own Slam on the customer's birthday.

In 1994, Denny's began renovating its stores, with a lighter color scheme; select locations also began serving Baskin-Robbins ice cream for a short time. Houston, Texas, was the test market for the chain-wide renovation.[8]

Denny's opened its first restaurant in Australia in December 1982, in the suburb of Forest Hill, Melbourne.[9] The Australian franchise was owned by Ansett Australia and expanded into other states throughout the 1980s. However, changing tastes of the Australian consumer-led to the sale of the chain in 1989[10] and its closure shortly thereafter.

Denny's Diner prototype

Denny's corporate headquarters in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina in July 2012
Denny's Diner in Bangor, Maine, inspired by 1950s culture. seen in March 2008
A Denny's in Ontario, California in December 2007
This newer Denny's off Interstate 35 north of Laredo, Texas, handles a considerable trucker clientele, seen in July 2014.
A Halloween pancake at a Denny's in Tokyo in October 2006

Some of Denny's restaurants employ the "diner" concept, using modular buildings that resemble classic 1950s diners. In May 1997, the first Denny's Classic Diner was opened in Fort Myers, Florida. The diner concept was created by Ron, Marcia, Marc, and Todd York, the principals of Denny's Franchisee SWFRI, Inc. Today,[when?] there are about 40 Denny's Diners in the United States. Additionally, there are several diners that resemble the modular buildings but are actually stick construction.[citation needed]

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 locations.[11] 123 Pilot Flying J conversions were eventually completed.[12]

As of the end of 2011, there were a total of 1,685 Denny's restaurants. While the company owns and operates some restaurants, the majority are operated through a franchising model. 1,593 of Denny's 1,698 restaurants are located in the 50 U.S. states (including the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico), one in Chile, 60 in Canada, five in Mexico, three in Costa Rica, two in Honduras, one in El Salvador, two in the United Kingdom and eight in New Zealand. There is also a Denny's attached to the Holiday Beach Hotel in Otrabanda, Willemstad, Curaçao.[13] Along with the regular Denny's menu, the Curaçao restaurant offers a selection of local ("kriyoyo") dishes. This is also true of the two locations in Guam, which have a separate "Only on Guam"[14] menu featuring Chamorro-style dishes.

There are also about 578 Denny's restaurants in Japan operated independently under a license by a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings[15] since 1984.[16] The first Denny's restaurant in Japan opened on the first floor of the Ito-Yokado in Kamiōoka(ja:上大岡), Kōnan-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture on April 27, 1974, however, it closed on March 20, 2017 on account of the demolition of the building of Ito-Yokado.[17][18][19][20]

In June 2012, Denny's opened a location in the Las Américas International Airport, its first location in an airport and its first in the Dominican Republic.[21][22] 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 makes it Denny's largest international development deal at that time.[23][24]

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, 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 typical Grand Slam Breakfast served with a bottle of Dom Pérignon.[25][26]

In November 2017, it was announced that Denny's was to open its first UK restaurant in Swansea in December 2017 as part of Parc Tawe's 15 million redevelopment scheme, occupying a 4,000 sq ft unit.[27] 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.

Health inspection records

In October 2004, Dateline NBC aired a segment titled "Dirty Dining", in which the 10 most popular family and casual dining chains in the United States were examined: Applebee's, Bob Evans, Chili's, Denny's, IHOP, Outback Steakhouse, 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 or violations that can result in adverse effects to 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.[28]

Animal welfare efforts

Denny's works with the Humane Society of the United States to address animal welfare issues.

In 2008, Denny's began switching to cage-free eggs.

In 2012, the company announced that it will work with its suppliers to move away from the practice of keeping pigs in gestation crates.[29]

Controversies

Discrimination

Denny's has been involved in a series of discrimination lawsuits involving food servers denying or providing inferior service to racial minorities, especially black customers.[30]

A 1993 incident occurred when six black United States Secret Service agents visited a Denny's restaurant in Annapolis, Maryland. They were forced to wait an hour for service while their white companions were seated immediately.[31][32]

In San Jose, California, in 1994, several black teenagers were refused service unless they agreed to pay in advance.[33][34]

In 1994, Denny's settled a class action lawsuit which was 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 to date under federal public-accommodations laws established thirty years earlier.[35]

In 1995, a black Denny's customer in Sacramento, California was told that he and his friends had to pay up front 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."[36]

In 1997, six Asian-American students from Syracuse University visited a local Denny's restaurant late at night. They waited for more than half an hour as white patrons were regularly served, seated, and offered more helpings. They complained to management and to 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[37] and shouted racial epithets. Several of the students were mercilessly beaten into unconsciousness.[38][39]

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 image by featuring African-Americans in their commercials, including one featuring Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford, actors from the popular The Jeffersons television series.[40][41] In 2001, Denny's was chosen by Fortune magazine as the "Best Company for Minorities."[42] In 2006 and 2007, Denny's topped Black Enterprise's "Best 40 Companies for Diversity."[43]

In 2014, a Denny's location in Deming, New Mexico was subjected to a discrimination claim by an LGBT group, alleging that wait staff used homophobic slurs and refused to serve a group of gay, lesbian, and transgender customers who were attending a gay pride 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 the abusive behavior by wait staff, as well as retrain its employees with regard to discrimination policies.[44]

In 2017, the staff at a Denny's in Vancouver was accused of making an Indigenous woman pay for her meal before it was served.[45] After the customer left, restaurant staff called police to report the incident, alleging that the patron had a sharp-metal object in their pocket.[46]

Sudden closures

In June 2017, eight Denny's locations in Colorado, including Colorado Springs and Pueblo, 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, numerous employees were left without employment and claimed that no advanced warning was given regarding the sudden closures. The franchise owner responsible for the closures immediately fled the state of Colorado.[47][48]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ United States (including Puerto Rico and Guam), Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, The Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Japan, Honduras, New Zealand, Qatar, Philippines, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Curaçao, and the United Kingdom.

References

  1. ^ "Denny's Corporation to Present at the Oppenheimer 11th Annual Consumer Conference". Ir.dennys.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Denny's Corporation Form 10-K". Securities and Exchange Commission. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  3. ^ "Denny's Number of Employees 2006-2021 | DENN".
  4. ^ a b c "Home Page – Denny's". Dennys.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  5. ^ Hess 2004, p. 126
  6. ^ "Diner Chain Has to Buy Locks for First Holiday Closing". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 20, 1988.
  7. ^ "Kohlberg, Kravis Plans Stake in TW". The New York Times. June 26, 1992.
  8. ^ "Restaurant testing new look, menu". The Galveston Daily News. Associated Press. March 13, 1994. p. 23. Retrieved September 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ http://www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/IgnitionSuite/uploads/docs/Whitehorse%20Post-1945%20Heritage%20Study.pdf
  10. ^ "Restaurant chain sale". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). May 26, 1989. p. 17. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  11. ^ Fox, Geoff (November 4, 2009). "Denny's to open at Flying J in Pasco". Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012.
  12. ^ Miller, John C. "To Our Valued Shareholders". Denny's Corporation 2011 Annual Report. Denny's Corporation. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  13. ^ "Denny's Corporation 2011 Annual Report". Denny's Corporation. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  14. ^ "Denny's Guam franchise web site". Denny's of Guam. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  15. ^ "Denny's Chain in Japan". The Wall Street Journal. May 10, 1973. p. 4. Alternate Link via ProQuest.
  16. ^ "Denny's Says Rights To Its Name in Japan Sold for $25.5 Million". The Wall Street Journal. November 14, 1984. p. 1. Alternate Link via ProQuest.
  17. ^ "デニーズ上大岡店". デニーズ. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  18. ^ "上大岡にあるデニーズ1号店、「らしさが皆無」なのは本当？". はまれぽ.com. June 21, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  19. ^ デニーズ 1号店20日で閉店 4世代で通う客「寂しい」 毎日新聞 18 March 2017
  20. ^ "さよならデニーズ1号店 – 米国の薫り43年 惜しむ常連 – 横浜 20日閉店". 朝日新聞. March 18, 2017.
  21. ^ "Denny's Enters Dominican Republic". Yahoo! Finance. Zacks Equity Research. June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  22. ^ "Denny's Comes to the Dominican Republic". Fox News Channel. June 28, 2012. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  23. ^ Jones, Kristin (July 9, 2012). "Denny's Plans China Expansion in 50-Restaurant Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 10, 2012.[dead link‍]
  24. ^ "Denny's to open 50 restaurants in China". Daily News. New York. July 11, 2012.
  25. ^ Tepper, Rachel (August 29, 2014). "We Went to America's First 'Fancy Denny's'". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014.
  26. ^ Preston, Marguerite (August 27, 2014). "Denny's Makes Its Very Fancy New York Debut on Friday". Eater NY. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  27. ^ "American Diner Denny's Chooses Swansea to Open Its First UK Restaurant". commercialpeople.com. November 22, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  28. ^ Thompson, Lea (October 3, 2004). "How safe are your favorite restaurants?". NBC News. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  29. ^ West, Anna (May 15, 2012). "Denny's Moves to End Gestation Crate Pig Confinement in Its Supply Chain" (Press release). The Humane Society of the United States. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  30. ^ "Denny's Restaurants Hit With Discrimination Suit". Jet. April 12, 1993. pp. 4–5. Retrieved January 6, 2012 – via Google News Archive.
  31. ^ "Secret Service accusing Denny's of discrimination". The Robesonian. May 24, 1993. p. A3. Retrieved January 6, 2012 – via Google News Archive.
  32. ^ Fletcher, Michael A. (May 25, 1994). "6 black Secret Service agents to share in settlement of Denny's bias suit". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  33. ^ Labaton, Stephen (May 25, 1994). "Denny's Restaurants to Pay $54 Million in Race Bias Suits". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  34. ^ "Boston.com Local Search – Boston Globe Archives". Docs.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  35. ^ "In a Surprising Act of Redemption, Denny's Becomes a Leader in Diversity". Washington Informer. January 20, 1999. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2012 – via HighBeam Research.
  36. ^ Ferraro, Cathleen (December 12, 1995). "Denny's Settles Two Race Suits Sacramentans Share In $46 Million Deal". Sacramento Bee. p. F1. Retrieved August 26, 2015 – via NewsBank.
  37. ^ "Syracuse U. Students Fault Police on Denny's". The New York Times. August 22, 1997.
  38. ^ Harlan, Heather (August 22, 1997). "Federal Investigation Finds Fault at Denny's". AsianWeek.
  39. ^ "Bias Alleged at N.Y. Denny's". The Washington Post. August 22, 1997. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  40. ^ "'The Jeffersons' come back for another Denny's round". Tampa Bay Business Journal. September 28, 2001.
  41. ^ "Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford". Nation's Restaurant News. September 19, 2001. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007 – via Access My Library.
  42. ^ Dinsmore, Christopher (October 11, 1998). "High Marks for Diversity Fortune's List of Companies With Best Marks for Hiring And Promoting Minorities Includes Area Shipbuilder". Virginian-Pilot. p. D1. Retrieved August 26, 2015 – via NewsBank.
  43. ^ "Awards & Recognition". Denny's Diversity Speaks. Denny's. Archived from the original on September 18, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  44. ^ Ramirez, Chris & Reed, Elizabeth (June 16, 2015). "LGBT group resolves discrimination complaint with NM Denny's". KOB Eyewitness News 4 Albuquerque. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  45. ^ "'Treated like a criminal': Yukon Indigenous woman accuses Vancouver Denny's of racism". CBC News. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  46. ^ Strapagiel, Lauren (November 21, 2017). "This Indigenous Couple Says A Denny's Employee Asked Them To Pay For Their Meals Upfront". BuzzFeed Canada. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  47. ^ Morrison, Holly (June 6, 2017). "Employees: 8 Denny's locations shut down after lack of paid taxes". KRDO News 13 Colorado Springs. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  48. ^ Laden, Rich; Bodine, Seth (June 6, 2017). "State seizes Denny's restaurants in Colorado Springs for back taxes". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
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