DENNY'S CLOSURE MAP SHOWS 13 RESTAURANTS THE CHAIN SHUT DOWN ACROSS US THIS YEAR
Struggling with rising costs and dwindling sales, Denny's is closing more of its locations across the U.S. this year, and the latest to shut its doors is the last restaurant the chain had in San Francisco, California.
The 24-hour Denny's in San Francisco's 816 Mission Street, near Union Square, closed on August 1 after nearly 25 years in business. On August 12, the chain's sign was painted over, symbolically signaling the end of an era for the decadeslong relationship between the City By the Bay and the diner chain.
Franchise owner Chris Haque told the SFGate that the restaurant "operated until the last day that we could."
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Haque told the newspaper that dining and dashing had become a big issue for the restaurant, significantly cutting into its profits, as well as concerns about crime in downtown San Francisco. "The cost of doing business is tremendous. There's vandalism, and people come and eat and walk away, and there's no one to stop them," he said.
While San Francisco's downtown has been experiencing a crisis following the pandemic, with retails closing and office spaces sitting vacant in the heart of the city, Denny's problems stretch much further than the Bay Area. Last year, Denny's closed 57 of its locations across the country.
Answering a request for comment from Newsweek, Denny's media team said: "Deciding to close a restaurant is never an easy decision.
"We are not able to provide a list of restaurant closures and will not share details on future business activity related to any franchisee's business. We are focused on our more than 1,500 locations and creating amazing experiences for our guests every day."
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The fast food chain closed 25 restaurants in the first quarter of the year (24 of which were franchised and licensed) and 15 restaurants in the second quarter, as reported by Forbes, and expects to close 15 more by the end of 2024. In a February earnings call, the restaurant chains cited inflation-related challenges as the main reason behind the closures.
According to Denny's report for the first quarter of 2024, the chain's total operating revenue was $110.0 million between January and March, down from $117.5 million a year earlier. In the same period, Denny's opened 5 new units, all of which were franchised or licensed.
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Denny's earnings for the second quarter of 2024 show that the company experienced a continued income downturn, making a total operating revenue of $115.9 million between April and June compared to $116.9 in the same period a year earlier. While closing 15 locations in the second quarter, the chain only opened three, all of which were franchised or licensed.
Denny's website currently lists a total of 1,333 locations across the country, with the highest concentration of restaurants in California (359), followed by Florida (118). The company didn't provide a detailed list of every store it recently axed.
Here's a non-comprehensive list of 13 locations the chain has shut down in the past quarter of the year across the country:
- Boise, Idaho
- Chubbuck, Idaho
- Nampa, Idaho
- Oakland, California
- Lubbock, Texas
- New Braunfels, Texas
- Ontario, Oregon
- Worcester, Massachusetts
- Middletown, Pennsylvania
- Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Ashland, Ohio
- Ontario, Ohio
- San Francisco, California
Despite the current troubles, Denny's CEO Kelli Valade has expressed optimism for the future of the company, especially since the chain relaunched its $2-$4-$6-$8 value menu and added a $10 option.
"This was a value platform unique to Denny's that launched years ago to amazing results, and it's a unique equity only we have," said Valade during an earnings call earlier this month. "We're thrilled to bring back this consumer-friendly traffic-driving platform based on extensive testing and re-engineering."
Update, 8/21/24 11:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a comment from Denny's.
2024-08-20T11:53:52Z dg43tfdfdgfd