FAT WHORE HORROR: Denny's closing 150 restaurants

All those poor cockroaches out of work.

they;ve discontinued the free birthday meal promotion

In my state, there were quite a few which opened up about fifteen years ago, when IHOP made a come-back in the area. All but one of the Denny's has closed over the past few years, and every time I go into the one which is opened (just for coffee and pancakes to meet a friend of mine for breakfast) the servers are always saying that location will be closing 'any day now'. The good news is that IHOP has taken over most of those locations.

I'm in panic mode, they just closed our Denny's and our Shari's restaurants, here in Pendleton, Oregon. Shari's was a better version of Denny's and their pies were wonderful. Must we lose everything?

Can you get butter and real maple syrup at Denny's?

Depends on your definitions of 'real' and 'maple....and 'butter' and 'syrup', for that matter.

Why this spells trouble for the Harris/Walz campaign.

I learned how to wait tables at Denny’s back in the early 80s. I had a great time and made some life-long friends.

I was just lamenting the other day that there is no place to go after a night out when you want a cheap bite to eat and chat with your friends some more. It was the place, always crowded even at 2 am. The IHOP near me got closed down recently for numerous health violations.

Starbucks used to have some stores that stayed open til 11. Now it’s 8.

Loved their Superbird.

The waitress is also a prostitute

R6 don't be cute. I assume it's a no for maple syrup. But what about butter? Can you at least get butter and maybe some jam for the pancakes?

There were a chain of family-owned restaurants in my area that served delicious dinners, sandwiches, salads and desserts. Not too far from each one was a 'Showcase Cinema' multiplex. In the 80s, 90s, 00s my friends and I would all go to the movies on a Saturday night (sometimes a Friday and Saturday night, if the movies released were really good) and then head to the restaurant - where there would be a line out the door waiting to get seated - around midnight. People of all ages (older people were season ticket holders to the Philharmonic or the touring Broadway shows heading over, while younger people went there from the movies) for burgers, pastrami sandwiches, or a slice of their famous cheesecake. The restaurant was open until 1 am every night, except Friday and Saturdays - open until 2 am. If Monday was a holiday, they would stay open on a Sunday until 2. Once you were in the restaurant, chances are you and your friends would run into others you knew. It was a fun time.

The restaurants are still open, three or four owners later, and they close at 9 pm every night - 10 pm on weekends. Most of my friends from the 80s and 90s have all moved away, but the ones who have stuck around the area (like me) still go to the restaurant and meet up once a month or so. The menu has been cut way back - not pages and pages of tempting dishes and desserts. The restaurant is no longer bustling - usually half empty on a weekend night. The multiplexes have been torn down for ' upscale condo developments' and car dealerships.

I met one of my friends there this past Saturday night a 8 pm - mostly everyone in there was our age (early 60s) or older. What's missing is the younger generations - the 20s, the 30s, the 40s -who kept the place alive when we were those ages. Those are the generations who stay home now and watch Netflix, while they order a Grub Hub delivery.

R10 Not being cute - asking a real question. I guess you've never worked in a restaurant before. We used to serve a soft 'buttery' spread of something at the restaurant I worked out, and told people it was butter. 99% of the customers believed us. Our maple syrup was 'real syrup' with maple flavorings and food colorings - we called it real maple syrup. Only a handful of customers knew it wasn't. Our 'home-made' desserts were from a factory which made desserts for many chain restaurants.

Why would you assume 'no' to maple syrup ?

Until 2 weeks ago, there was a legendary restaurant on South Kingshighway in St. Louis called Uncle Bill's Pancake House open 24/7. Generations of St. Louisans have had as a rite of passage getting completely wasted then puking at Uncle Bill's.

How will the torch be psssed mow?

R12 because of what you just explained.

"Our maple syrup was 'real syrup' with maple flavorings and food colorings - we called it real maple syrup. Only a handful of customers knew it wasn't."

Maple syrup is the boiled sap of maple trees.

Well, R14 they will give you something in a sticky pour-dispenser and call it maple syrup. Most likely, you would be none the wiser.

Why would you assume everyone shares your non-discerning trashy sense of taste?

This may hit my road trips hard. I’ve always felt that I could trust Denny’s when I pass through cities and states I don’t know.

Uncle Bill’s —the real deal—is in Man Bch

I have a question about the article OP linked. It says one reason some of the restaurants are being closed is that they are “too old to be remodeled.”

I thought being old was the REASON to remodel. Can someone more familiar with the business enlighten us?

I confess that I used to get carry-out from Denny's during Covid, but haven't since at least 2021. Their prices rose to a level that it became a bad value.

i haven't seen more than 5 or 6 people at a time at the two that are near me in years - i'm surprised they're still open. nobody wants to sit down at a restaurant unless it's instagrammable.

[quote]Maple syrup is the boiled sap of maple trees

The sugar maple to be precise. The sap of the big leaf maple (the one on our flag) can be turned into syrup with a face-punching bitter aftertaste.

My grandfather saved a ton of loonies tapping and boiling it from a tree out back. Greatest Generation FTW.

So many restaurants are owned or built/maintained by franchisees these days.

R19 - ADA compliance issues and kitchen fire systems are the 2 biggies.

Omg, 🤣🤣! OP, you really know how to start a thread!

on a weeknight in our sw town, a location that has thrived for over 50 years, is now probably one that will be shuttered. we stopped in, just last month at dinner hour, and ended up going across the parking lot to a Raising Cane chicken because the vibe at Dennys was so bad. Raising Cane's was packed.

the price hikes on Dennys menu also ..yeow.

another aspect i'd noticed since the pandemic, was there was never enough staff tomeet the deman.d.

whole sections of empty tables, and we're waiting 20 min to get seated because no wait staff.

[quote]Generations of St. Louisans have had as a rite of passage getting completely wasted then puking at Uncle Bill's

A ringing endorsement for any restaurant!

[quote]I have a question about the article OP linked. It says one reason some of the restaurants are being closed is that they are “too old to be remodeled.” I thought being old was the REASON to remodel. Can someone more familiar with the business enlighten us?

On average, a restaurant or retail store is to be remodeled every seven years, no matter what condition it is in. This goes for corporate owned as well as franchised / licensed stores (this is in the franchise agreement with the business owner). Not to get to technical, but studies have been done over the decades in which it was found consumers got 'tired' of a store's look after seven years, which could result in loss of sales if the consumer loses interest in the brand. So they have to 'redesign' and 'remodel' to grab their attention.

Needless to say, this could be very costly to the 'small business' franchise owner. For a retailer, structurally it means new fixtures, cabinetry, carpeting / flooring, painting, light fixtures along with current ADA and fire systems compatibility. .

For a restaurant / café, it's everything above plus kitchen equipment / remodel.

This is very costly, and requires the small business owner to take out loans to finance this (sometimes the corporation itself will give the business owner the loan to finance, but the fees are astronomical compared to a bank loan).

IF the franchise owner can prove 'financial hardship' of a remodel, and the space is still in good condition, corporate will give a pass until the next remodel cycle. So after 14 years, the owner MUST remodel their store and bring everything up to date, which can be even more cost-prohibitive. If they can't - they lose their franchise agreement for breach of contract. That's when corporate takes over the location and decides what the future is of the location. If it proves still profitable, corporate will do the remodel (and franchise to a new owner if they don't want to keep it). If the numbers aren't there to sustain it, then corporate declares it's "too old to remodel" and shuts it down.

We're going to see a shrinkage of things over the next decade, I think, as more and more goes online.

Restaurants are going to switch more to takeout or have outdoor seating when possible, with a smaller indoor footprint, because people wanted that even before the pandemic, and the pandemic made it more of a priority.

Walgreens and the like will shrink stores. The model of a mini superstore isn't necessarily profitable. People want different ways to pick up items - drive through, dedicated pick up - and they'll probably evolve to focus on that.

Aside from Target/Walmart, Lowes/Home Depot and grocery stores, it seems that just about everything else is either shrinking number of locations or size of store.

I know it's been said before but there should be a store again like the one I remember from the late 70s/early 80s - Service Merchandise or David Weis. Those had a limited showroom and an area to pick things up. IKEA does that now with some items but it should be in more stores.

I liked as a kid when JCPenney had pickup counters - they had them in numerous pharmacies and it just made things easy. Some of these "old" ideas can be new again and make sense, and these companies would be smart to follow shifting trends.

No loss. The one in my town is a filthy dump. Most people go to IHOP, which is "nicer."

Grover’s Corners?

[quote] Grover’s Corners?

Is that on the other side of Pixley?

The one in my town has been closed for a few years now. As did the Shoney's.

We still have a Perkins, but after Covid, it went from 24 hours to closing at 9:00pm.

I sort of feel bad for all of the teenagers who don't have a place to go sober up a bit with Grand Slam breakfast or sot around and talk for hours about all the important things in life while smoking cigarettes and eating below-average hamburgers.

Where do all the theater kids go after the Friday night performance of whatever shitty play was?

Denny's was the preferred hangout in high school after whatever event - dance, movie, working meeting, etc.

Much better than Spires, Bob's Big Boy, or other chain options.

A friend of mine is the manager of one of the IHOP in my area for the past fifteen years. The family which owns the restaurant owns quite a few in the franchise throughout the region. The cleanliness guidelines she must follow are not only set by corporate, but by the DOH in my state, as well. The list is endless, but they follow it - you can eat off the floor in any of their restaurants in my area.

I think I last ate at a Denny's maybe 15 years ago. Perhaps longer. We were on vacation and it was the only serviceable place.

[quote]Aside from Target/Walmart, Lowes/Home Depot and grocery stores, it seems that just about everything else is either shrinking number of locations or size of store.

In my area, grocery supermarkets are no longer so 'super'. They've cut back operating hours (used to be open until midnight, now they're closing at 9 pm), while Stop & Shop is closing stores in many locations. Trader Joes is expanding a little, as is Whole Foods, but their new stores are much smaller than what they once were. I wonder if it's because more and more people are only shopping the stores for dairy, produce, seafood / meat and buying the canned goods and boxed items online ?

Seems like OP missed the mark.

The headline should have been:

FAT WHORROR: Denny's closing 150 restaurants.

On no. A corporation is shuffling its assets. Whatever will we do?…

I don't get why people still go to Denny's, IHOP, or similar places. Their prices are not cheap and it's mid at best. Plus just a lower end experience.

A cheap diner aesthetic and real restaurant prices.

IHOP's food is disgusting - the cheapest ingredients, too much oil and butter. And it's expensive - I honestly don't understand.

Then again - there are Olive Gardens still around, so...

I last ate in a Denny’s in rural Wisconsin around 20 years ago and the food was practically inedible - and I eat standard NYC diner food all the time.

How they can make some pancakes & eggs that revolting is actually perversely fascinating.