Denny's is the largest full-service family restaurant chain in the United States. It operates over 2,500 restaurants in the United States (including Puerto Rico), Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Japan, Mexico, and New Zealand. 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 many other restaurant chains, Denny's does not close on holidays or nights, except where required by law. Public is of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community; opposed to private; as, the public treasury, a road or lake. ... NASDAQ in Times Square, New York City. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Spartanburg is the largest city and the county seat of Spartanburg CountyGR6 in South Carolina, and is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina. ... Official language(s) English Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude 78° 32′ W to 83... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Harold Butler (b. ... A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere. ... For other uses, see Restaurant (disambiguation). ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... A restaurant chain is a set of related restaurants, typically with the same name in many different locations either under shared corporate ownership (e. ... For other uses, see Curaçao (disambiguation). ... Breakfast is the first meal of the day, typically eaten in the morning. ... Lunch is an abbreviation of luncheon, meaning a midday meal. ... An amount of formality may be present at a dinner Dinner is a meal eaten in the evening. ... Not to be confused with Desert. ... Interstate 80 (Eastshore Freeway) in Berkeley, California: a typical American freeway (MUTCD definition) A freeway, also known as a highway, superhighway, autoroute, autobahn, autostrada, dual carriageway, expressway, Autosnelweg or motorway, depending on the country of discussion, is a type of road designed for safer high-speed operation of motor vehicles...

History

A Denny's restaurant in Tokyo, Japan.

HalloweenPancake Denny's restaurant in Tokyo

The neon sign of a Denny's in San Clemente, California

Denny's was founded under the name Danny's Donuts in 1953 by Harold Butler in Lakewood, California. Butler expanded to 20 restaurants by 1959, when he renamed the chain to Denny's to avoid confusion with another chain "Doughnut Dan's". The business continued to grow and by 1981, there were over 1,000 restaurants in all 50 U.S. states. 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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 314 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Dennys ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 314 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Dennys ... For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 519 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (681 × 787 pixel, file size: 82 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Dennys Metadata... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 519 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (681 × 787 pixel, file size: 82 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Dennys Metadata... This article is about the holiday. ... Two pancakes with maple syrup. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 967 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 967 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU... Location of San Clemente within Orange County, California. ... Harold Butler (b. ... Motto: Location of Lakewood in Los Angeles County, California Coordinates: , Country State County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1954-04-16 [2] Government  - Mayor Larry Van Nostran [1] Area  - City  9. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... Save the Children Logo Save the Children is an international non-profit organization dedicated to working for children. ...

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 Denny's Corporation. It now trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol NASDAQ: DENN. Today, Denny's operates about 1,600 restaurants in 49 U.S. states (Wyoming is the only state without a Denny's), Canada and Mexico. There are also about 578 Denny's restaurants in Japan operated under a license by a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings. Motto: Innovation. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Spartanburg is the largest city and the county seat of Spartanburg CountyGR6 in South Carolina, and is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina. ... Official language(s) English Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude 78° 32′ W to 83... Trans World Corporation was the original name of the holding company set up to own Trans World Airlines. ... NASDAQ in Times Square, New York City. ... NASDAQ in Times Square, New York City. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... Official language(s) English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Area  Ranked 10th  - Total 97,818 sq mi (253,348 km²)  - Width 280 miles (450 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 0. ... Seven & I Holdings Co. ...

For much of its history, Denny's was notable for offering a free meal to anyone on their birthday. The offer only included a limited number of meal options from a special birthday menu. The promotional ritual ceased in 1993, though occasionally individual franchises will continue the tradition.

Competitors

Competing restaurants include IHOP, Shoney's, Bob Evans, Waffle House, Cracker Barrel, Eat'n Park, Perkins, Steak n Shake, and Village Inn. IHOP (originally the International House of Pancakes) is a United States-based restaurant chain that specializes in breakfast foods. ... Shoneys is a restaurant chain in the United States that had a franchise with the Big Boy chain. ... Bob Evans Farms, Inc. ... Waffle House is a restaurant chain with 1500 stores found in twenty-five states in the United States. ... Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. ... Eatn Park is a restaurant chain with locations in Western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia. ... Perkins Restaurant and Bakery is a North American casual dining restaurant chain. ... Steak n Shake (also spelled Steak n Shake) is a combination diner/fast food restaurant chain located throughout the Midwestern and Southern United States. ... Village Inn is a casual dining restaurant chain in the United States. ...

Denny's also competes with restaurant chains throughout various regions of the country.

Controversy

Racial discrimination lawsuits

During the early 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.^[1] In sociology and in voting theory, a minority is a sub-group that is outnumbered by persons who do not belong to it. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...

These are some of the most notable incidents involving racial discrimination at Denny's:

• In San Jose, California, several black teenagers were refused service unless they agreed to pay in advance (Smith, 1996). This was the first recorded incident of such events.^[2][3]

• Six Asian-American Syracuse University students visited a local Denny’s restaurant late at night. They waited over 30 minutes as white patrons were regularly served, seated, and offered more helpings. They began to complain to management and to their server regarding the situation. They were then 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 and attacked the group,^[4] shouting racial epithets. Several of the students were beaten into unconsciousness.^[5][6][7]

• Six African-American 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 upon entering (Guillermo, 1997).^[8]

• An African-American Denny’s customer 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 some black guys had been in earlier who made a scene and walked out without paying their bill. So the manager now wanted all blacks to pay up front." (Ferraro, 1995)^[9].

In 1994, Denny's settled a class action lawsuit filed by thousands of 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 and broadest under Federal public-accommodations laws established 30 years ago to end segregation in restaurants and public spaces.^[10] In law, a class action is an equitable procedural device used in litigation for determining the rights of and remedies, if any, for large numbers of people whose cases involve common questions of law and fact. ...

After the $54.4 million settlement, Denny's created a racial sensitivity training program for all its employees. Denny's has also made efforts at improving its public relations image by featuring African Americans in many of its commercials, including one featuring Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford (both actors from the popular The Jeffersons television show).^[11][12] In 2001, Denny's was chosen by Fortune magazine as the "Best Company for Minorities."^[13][14] // Publicity according to etymonline. ... Sherman Hemsley (born February 1, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an Emmy Award nominated and Image Award winning African American character actor most famous for his roles as George Jefferson, on the television shows All in the Family and The Jeffersons and as Deacon Ernest Frye on Amen. ... Isabel Sanford (born as Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford August 29, 1917 – July 9, 2004) was an American actress most famous for her role as Louise Weezie Jefferson on the CBS television sitcoms All in the Family (1971-1975) and The Jeffersons (1975-1985). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Categories: Magazines stubs | Time Warner subsidiaries | Business magazines ...

Ehrenreich

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.^[15] The Jerry's chain of restaurants was folded into Denny's in 1989. Cover of the 2001 Metropolitan Books edition Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America is a book authored by Barbara Ehrenreich. ... Barbara Ehrenreich (born August 26, 1941, in Butte, Montana) is a prominent liberal American writer, columnist, feminist, socialist and political activist. ... For other uses, see Restaurant (disambiguation). ... A pseudonym (Greek: , pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons legal name. ...

Dateline NBC report

In October 2004, Dateline NBC aired a segment titled "Dirty Dining." This segment examined the 10 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 all of the critical violations, or violations that can result in adverse effects to the customers' health. Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC similar to ABCs 20/20 or CBSs 60 Minutes. ... A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere. ... Bob Evans Farms, Inc. ... Red Lobster is a U.S. chain of seafood restaurants. ... Waffle House is a restaurant chain with 1500 stores found in twenty-five states in the United States. ... Chilis Grill & Bar is a chain of over 1,000 casual dining restaurants, most located in the United States. ... Ruby Tuesday is an American casual dining restaurant chain named after the Rolling Stones song of the same name. ... The International House of Pancakes or IHOP is a United States-based restaurant chain that specializes in breakfast foods. ... Applebee’s International, Inc. ... A sign at a T.G.I. Fridays franchise in Pensacola, Florida. ... Outback Steakhouse is a casual dining American restaurant chain based in Tampa, Texas with over 900 locations in 23 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. ... Health inspector is a city public employee who examines food establishments and ensures they maintain health standards set by the city or state. ...

Denny's had the fewest violations of the 10 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 chain-wide 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year (many IHOPs operate 24 hours as well) — an important factor to consider, as around-the-clock restaurants generally gather more health code violations^{[citation needed]}. (Waffle House ranked the worst of the 10 chains examined.) Denny's, however, did not seem to be affected by the lack of downtime. Denny's attributes this relative success to its adherence to the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) — the science of food safety.^[16] Waffle House is a restaurant chain with 1500 stores found in twenty-five states in the United States. ... Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a systematic preventive approach to food safety, pharmaceutical safety, etc. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Food safety is a scientific discipline describing the handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent Foodborne illness. ...

The "Denny's Diner" prototype

In 1998, Denny's reinvented its image and launched Denny's Diner. 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, the general Denny's Diner concept was merged into the typical Denny's, requiring all locations to have '50s-themed interiors. There are, however, still locations that call themselves "Denny's Classic Diner." Retro is a term used to describe the culture of the past. ... A Zodiac jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that can play specially selected songs from self-contained media. ... A lava lamp is a novelty item typically used for decoration rather than illumination. ... the first thing that was invented was the automatic DILDO. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. ...

Denny's in popular culture

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• In the 1994 Christmas 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 that was immediately followed by an interior shot of the restaurant focusing on Japanese diners.
• 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.
• 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-1990s discrimination incident. "Denny's say that they don't discriminate, but you gotta wonder when that chef's hat is pointed..."
• In the television series Family Guy, Peter decides to punish his body by eating at Denny's. In another episode, Brian is shown as overreacting and yelling at a crying baby due to his food being overcooked. In another episode titled "Da Boom", the family establishes a new town after Quahog is destroyed during Y2K. Chris Griffin tells the family to build "two Denny's so we can always say, 'Let's not go there. Let's go to the good one.'"
• Bubba "Whoop-Ass" Wilson of The Monsters in the Morning wrote and sang a song about the diner called "Drunk at Denny's."
• On the Simpsons' episode "Bart Sells His Soul", Ned Flanders expects people at Denny's to have foul language.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... The Santa Clause (1994) is a Christmas film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Hollywood Pictures, starring Tim Allen. ... Tim Allen (born June 13, 1953) is an American comedian, character actor, voice-over artist, and entertainer perhaps best known for his role in the sitcom Home Improvement and his roles in Disney films, such as The Santa Clause and Toy Story. ... Eric Lloyd, originally Eric Morelli (born 19 May 1986, in Glendale, California, USA), is an American actor whose films include The Santa Clause trilogy. ... The Christmas Eve (1904-05), watercolor painting by the Swedish painter Carl Larsson (1853-1919) Christmas Eve, the evening of December 24th, the preceding day or vigil before Christmas Day, is treated to a greater or a lesser extent in most Christian societies as part of the Christmas season. ... For other uses, see Limbaugh. ... In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... Reginald Oliver Denny (born April 21, 1953 in San Pedro, California) was a construction truck driver who, after being dragged from his truck, was nearly beaten to death by rioters during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, some of whom were later determined to be gang members. ... For other uses, see Los Angeles riots (disambiguation). ... Buckshot LeFonque Buckshot LeFonque was a musical group project of Branford Marsalis. ... James Douglas Muir Jay Leno (born April 28, 1950) is an Emmy-winning American comedian who is best known as the current host of NBC televisions long-running variety and talk program The Tonight Show. ... This box:      Most broadly, discrimination is the discernment of qualities and rejection of subjects with undesirable qualities. ... Family Guy is an Emmy Award-winning American animated television series about a nuclear family in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. ... “Da Boom” is an episode from the second season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... The year 2000 problem (also known as the Y2K problem and the millennium bug) was a flaw in computer program design that caused some date-related processing to operate incorrectly for dates and times on and after January 1, 2000. ... Promo Shot The Monsters in the Morning is a radio show on WTKS Real Radio in Orlando, Florida, USA and XM Radio Channel 152 for the first four hours. ... The Simpsons. ... Bart Sells His Soul is the fourth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Nedward Ned Flanders is a fictional character on The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ...

External links

• Denny's website
• Denny's Japan website
• Project Denny's: a Denny's travelogue