is the largest full-service family
Restaurant Chain in the
United States . It operates over 2,500 restaurants in the
United States ,
Canada ,
El Salvador ,
Puerto Rico ,
New Zealand , and
Japan . Denny's is known for its 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year operations, serving
Breakfast ,
Lunch ,
Dinner , and
Dessert around the clock. Many of their restaurants are located in proximity to
Freeway exits and in service areas of small towns and remote areas. Unlike
McDonald's and most other
Fast-food Restaurant chains, Denny's does not close on holidays or nights except where required by law.
,
Japan .]]
Denny's was founded under the name in
1953 by
Harold Butler in
Lakewood ,
California . Butler expanded to 20 restaurants by
1959 , when he renamed the chain to Denny's. The business continued to grow and by
1981 , there were over 1,000 restaurants in all 50
U.S. State s. 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.
Denny's headquarters were located in
Irvine ,
California until
1991 . At that time, the main office was moved to the
Spartanburg ,
South Carolina headquarters of the parent company
Trans World Corporation that acquired Denny's in
1987 . Eventually, Denny's operations dominated the parent company to such an extent that Trans World Corporation, after several name changes, became . It now trades on the
NASDAQ under the symbol . Today, Denny's operates 2,500 restaurants in all 50
U.S. State s, two territories, and four foreign countries.
During the
1990s , Denny's was involved in a series of discrimination lawsuits involving several cases of servers denying or providing inferior service to
Minorities , especially
African American customers. After settling a
Class Action lawsuit for $54.4 million, Denny's rolled out an industry-leading racial sensitivity training program for all of its employees. Denny's has also improved its
Public Relations image by featuring African Americans in many of its commercials, including a commercial featuring
Sherman Hemsley and
Isabel Sanford (both actors from the popular ''
The Jeffersons '' television show).
In
2001 , Denny's was chosen by
''Fortune'' Magazine as the "Best Company for Minorities," and has consistently remained near the top of the list since. Although its image has not yet been completely untarnished, Denny's has made great strides in eliminating discrimination.
In the controversial book "
Nickel And Dimed " by
Barbara Ehrenreich , the author included her experience working in a
Restaurant chain known for its line of breakfast foods. To avoid lawsuits, due to the descriptions of less than desirable work conditions, she mentions the name of the restaurant under the
Pseudonym "Jerry's".
Readers have speculated that Denny's is the restaurant chain she is describing.
In
October of
2004 , ''
Dateline NBC '' aired a segment titled "Dirty Dining". This segment examined the ten most popular family and
Casual Dining chains in the United States, including
Bob Evans ,
Red Lobster ,
Waffle House ,
Chili's ,
Ruby Tuesday ,
IHOP ,
Applebee's ,
TGI Friday's ,
Outback Steakhouse , and
Denny's . As part of the segment, the producers examined the
Health Inspection records for 100 restaurants over 15 months, and totaled up all of the
Critical Violations , or violations that can result in adverse effects to the customers' health.
Denny's had the fewest violations of all ten chains evaluated by Dateline and was the only one to average fewer than one violation per restaurant. Denny's and
Waffle House were the only two chains studied that operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year–an important factor to consider, as generally, around-the-clock restaurants gather more health code violations. Waffle House ranked the worst of the ten chains examined; Denny's, however, did not seem to be affected by the lack of downtime. Denny's attributes this relative success to its supposed adherence to the principles of
HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)—the
Science of
Food Safety .
In
1998 , Denny's re-invented its image and launched . The "Diner" was a "googie" or
Retro -style restaurant, featuring bright red, green, and yellow colors,
Jukeboxes ,
Lava Lamps , retro-style paintings, etc. – The company originally planned to change every Denny's restaurant to Denny's Diner, but financing prohibited it. Eventually, Denny's Diner was merged into the typical Denny's, requiring all locations to have
'50s -themed interiors.
On
March 15 ,
2006 , a man opened fire in a Denny's in
Pismo Beach ,
California , killing two people and seriously injuring two others. The shooter also died, from a self-inflicted wound. This was the first of ''three''
Fatal Shooting incidents to occur at
Southern California Denny's restaraunts in consecutive days. In
Ontario on
March 16 , a 37-year-old man was fatally shot in a Denny's parking lot Thursday after a fight. Then a gunman opened fire early
March 17 at a Denny's in
Anaheim , killing one man and seriously wounding another.
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On April 23, 2006 it was reported that Ricky Manning Jr. was caught in scuffle outside of a Denny's restaurant near the UCLA campus. ESPN reported on their website that "a group of people -- including Manning -- attacked a man in a Denny's restaurant after teasing him for working on a laptop computer."
{Link without Title} He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly fighting a man. He was later released on a bail of $30,000 dollars.
- New York City , the Lower Hudson Valley , and Long Island have no Denny's. The closest Denny's to New York City is 20 miles away in Avenel , New Jersey . This is widely rumored to be a result of pressure from Greek -run diners to keep away a 24/7 business.
- Denny's is a common after-show spot for fans of midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show .
- In Hershey , Pennsylvania there is a restaurant called "Dempsey's" which features the same logo and color scheme of the Denny's franchise. Another Dempsey's in nearby Lancaster , Pennsylvania is less than one mile down the street from a Denny's. It changed hands in 2005 , and is now Columbia Diner.
- In the 1994 holiday movie '' The Santa Clause '', the characters played by Tim Allen and Eric Lloyd eat at a Denny's restaurant on Christmas Eve after Allen's character singes their home-cooked turkey dinner. He describes the chain as an "American institution", a line which was immediately followed by an interior shot of the restaurant focusing on Japanese diners.
- In an episode of the FOX sketch comedy program '' In Living Color '', actor Chris Rock subtly mentions the affordability of Denny's restaurants after requesting that a waiter about to physically throw him out of a classy dining establishment throw him "towards Denny's."
- A Rush Limbaugh Parody commercial features " Reginald Denny's ", based on an incident during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots . It includes the announcer calling the restaurant "Reginald Lenny's" (before being punched), which was inspired by an elderly customer calling the real chain "Lenny's" in the real commercial.
- Denny's used to offer a free meal to anyone on their birthday. The offer only included a limited number of meal options from special birthday menu. The promotional ritual ceased in 1993 , though occasionally individual franchises will continue the tradition.
- In 1994 , Buckshot Lefonque recorded an instrumental song called "Breakfast at Denny's" which featured small excerpts from Jay Leno 's routine on the early 90's Discrimination incident. "Denny's say that they don't discriminate, but you gotta wonder when that chef's hat is pointed...."
