Where is dennys located

That act of goodwill caused a big problem for the restaurant, though. In order to close for the day, more than of the restaurants had to have locks installed. Many of them either didn't have locks at all, or the key had been lost decades ago since the doors were always open. It's no secret that a career in fast food isn't usually a stairway to success , no matter what the employee handbook might tell you.

But one former Denny's waitress, Dawn Lafreeda , beat the statistics and managed to make her way from server to the largest Denny's franchise owner in the world. Lafreeda started working at the chain as a teen , and continued working there through college while also taking an accounting and management job at a software company. She purchased her first Denny's franchise at the age of 23, then revamped four other Denny's restaurants in Texas.

After turning those businesses around, she kept at it, eventually owning 82 Denny's restaurants in 7 states total.

She owns more Denny's franchises than anyone else in the company. Lafreeda has been working as a Denny's franchise owner for more than 30 years now, and her company Den-Tex Inc.

Not too shabby for what began as a high school waitressing job! From Sonic to Subway, lots of the restaurants we now consider to be household names were actually called something else when they were first opened. The same is true of Denny's. When the chain was first opened by founders Harold Butler and Richard Jezak in , it was a donut stand called Danny's Donuts.

Located in Lakewood, California, within three years there were eight restaurants. Jezak left the company, and Butler revamped the chain from a donut shop to a coffee shop with a more robust menu. Even then the stand was open 24 hours a day, but it wasn't Denny's yet — in the name was changed to Danny's Coffee Shops. It wasn't until that the restaurant was renamed to Denny's Coffee Shops, so people wouldn't get it confused with the pre-existing Coffee Dan's in LA.

Then, in the name was shortened to just Denny's, which is how we know the chain today. Denny's hasn't been immune to controversy over the years, and one of the most notable dings to its reputation were a spate of lawsuits filed against the chain in the early 90s for racial discrimination. Black customers, including six secret service agents, joined together in two class-action lawsuits against Denny's. They accused restaurant employees of "ejecting black customers, segregating black from white customers, using racial epithets, failing to honor advertised specials for black customers and trying to limit the number of black customers in a restaurant at any one time.

The money was paid out to thousands of people across the country, and as part of the deal Denny's agreed to a revamp of how the company prevents and addresses racial discrimination issues. It was an historic settlement, the largest amount of monetary damages ever issued for a violation of the Civil Rights act of Denny's also made sweeping reforms to its own company policies. Most of these measures are still in place, but even so, Denny's has come under fire several times for racial bias and discrimination, even as recently as and In the age of social media, many brands are experimenting with how to expand their reach.

Denny's became a part of the online conversation by playing into a trend that paid off in a big way. It all started with a meme. People were using a "Zoom in" meme on Twitter in early , where users who zoomed in on a picture would see very small text that directed them to look at a different part of the image, eventually revealing a final hidden statement. Denny's posted a picture of their pancakes , with the text "zoom in on the syrup. As of this writing, the meme has been liked , times and retweeted , times, while a quote tweet of the meme that's circulating has a whopping , likes and , retweets.

According to a Denny's rep , it was the company's most liked and shared social post of all time. It turns out that if they do it right, getting down to their customers' level can pay of big for brands. Hall of Famer Hank Aaron is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Over his career he hit home runs, passing the previous record set by Babe Ruth and keeping his until someone else nabbed the title in So, when Hammerin' Hank retired in , Denny's decided to honor him the best way they knew how: by creating a new breakfast option. Called the Grand Slam breakfast, this now-iconic meal lets customers put together four different items to create a plate, and is served with potatoes or toast.

In a classic Grand Slam there are 13 foods to choose as one of the four on your platter. The chain also serves up special combos, like the Belgian Waffle Slam with, you guessed it, a Belgian waffle and the Fit Slam which featured an egg white omelet, turkey bacon, an English muffin, and fruit. As far as Denny's menu items go, you could almost almost say that at this point the Grand Slam breakfast is just as legendary as Hank Aaron himself.

Denny's serves more than million eggs each year. So, in when they announced a shift to serving percent cage-free eggs by the year , it was a big deal. That's because corporate demand for huge quantities of cage-free eggs is actually changing farming as we know it. The USDA reports that more than 70 percent of US egg demand is coming from companies that are switching to cage-free eggs within the next decade, and because of that, cage-free eggs will actually become the norm soon, which will have a huge effect on the welfare of hen-laying chickens.

Along with their commitment to switching up their egg suppliers, Denny's also worked with The Humane Society to start sourcing pork from farms that don't place mother pigs in gestation crates.

They also have requirements in place to ensure that their beef, turkey, and chickens are humanely raised and slaughtered. If you're eating meat or eggs at Denny's, at least you can know that it comes from farms that are relatively concerned with animal welfare. In , Denny's became the largest corporate sponsor of the Save the Children charity.

Not coincidentally, this was the year after their racial discrimination lawsuits were settled — papers have even been written about how working with the charity was a mutually beneficial way for the chain to rehab its image while Save the Children was able to raise awareness of its mission. Even if the partnership was made to help Denny's image, it's hard to argue with any company's philanthropy.

Along with Save the Children, Denny's also works with Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry program they've funded more than 43 million meals for hungry kids in the past six years , created a scholarship program called "Hungry for Education," works with the regional United Way chapter near their company headquarters, and raises money for the Miami-based organization Tour de Force.

The next time you're at the chain trying to decide whether or not you should really buy that extra order of Pancake Puppies, at least you know some of your money will be going to good causes! The Grand Slam is Denny's hallmark breakfast.

Plus, you'll receive the skills you need for long-term growth. See your future at Denny's. Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes Our fall flavors are back! Find Location. Help Feed Hungry Kids A little donation makes a big difference. America's Diner Double. American cheese, caramelized onions and Diner Q sauce on a brioche bun. Classic Benny Breakfast.

Served with hash browns. Southwestern Benny Breakfast. Prime Rib Benny Breakfast. Caramel Apple Pie Crisp. Warm apple pie crisp topped with premium vanilla ice cream, salted caramel and powdered sugar.

Pecan Panookie. Warm chocolate chip cookie filled with molten chocolate, topped with premium vanilla ice cream, pecan pie sauce and glazed pecans. Serves Pumpkin Pecan Pancake Breakfast. Pumpkin pancakes made with real pumpkin and cooked with pecans, then drizzled with a pecan pie sauce.

Two open-faced biscuits topped with premium golden-fried chicken tenders, country gravy, cheddar cheese and two eggs. Scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, ham and American cheese on potato bread grilled with a maple spice spread.

A chopped beef steak smothered in country gravy. Served with hash browns and choice of bread. Cinnamon Roll Pancake Breakfast. Buttermilk pancakes cooked with cinnamon crumb topping and topped with whipped cream and cream cheese icing.

Buttermilk pancakes, grilled ham, bacon strips, sausage links, eggs, hash browns and choice of bread. Three scrambled eggs with Cheddar cheese, bacon strips, sausage links, hash browns and choice of bread. Build Your Own Burger. Lettuce, tomato, red onions and pickles included. Served with wavy-cut fries or seasonal fruit. Double Cheeseburger. Choice of American, Swiss or aged white cheddar cheese with lettuce, tomato, red onions and pickles on a brioche bun.

A 13 oz. Zesty Nachos. Tortilla chips cooked fresh to order. Mozzarella Cheese Sticks. Served with your choice of dipping sauce.