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Denny's
Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and several other international locations. Founded in 1953 as a donut stand in Lakewood, California, under the name Danny's Donuts, the chain has grown to one of the largest full-service family restaurant chains in the United States.
Denny's started franchising in 1963, and most Denny's restaurants are now franchisee-owned. Franchise agreements require 24/7 service in most locations. Because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant industry in the United States, many Denny's had to close for the first time and may now have limited hours of operation.
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. 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 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 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 locations closed for the first time ever for Christmas 1988; this was problematic because many restaurants had been built without locks, and others had reportedly lost their keys.
Denny's main offices were 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. On July 12, 1997, Flagstar, Denny's parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 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 under the DENN symbol.
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.
Along with their famous breakfasts and hamburgers, Denny’s introduced the Beyond Burger as a vegetarian 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. 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 and its closure shortly after that.
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. 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, several diners resemble modular buildings but are actually stick construction.[citation needed]
Denny's
Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and several other international locations. Founded in 1953 as a donut stand in Lakewood, California, under the name Danny's Donuts, the chain has grown to one of the largest full-service family restaurant chains in the United States.
Denny's started franchising in 1963, and most Denny's restaurants are now franchisee-owned. Franchise agreements require 24/7 service in most locations. Because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant industry in the United States, many Denny's had to close for the first time and may now have limited hours of operation.
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. 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 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 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 locations closed for the first time ever for Christmas 1988; this was problematic because many restaurants had been built without locks, and others had reportedly lost their keys.
Denny's main offices were 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. On July 12, 1997, Flagstar, Denny's parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 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 under the DENN symbol.
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.
Along with their famous breakfasts and hamburgers, Denny’s introduced the Beyond Burger as a vegetarian 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. 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 and its closure shortly after that.
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. 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, several diners resemble modular buildings but are actually stick construction.[citation needed]
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