Denny’s expects to close 150 of its underperforming restaurants by the end of 2025.
Investors were told Tuesday that many of those shutterings would occur this year, according to The Associated Press. The closures will reportedly affect 10% of all Denny’s locations in operation.
The company didn’t announce which restaurants it plans to shutter or if those closures are limited to operations in the 50 states. In 1967, the franchise opened its first international eatery in Mexico and has since spread to Europe, South America, Asia, New Zealand and the Middle East.
Denny’s has not responded to a request for clarification.
On Tuesday, Denny’s reported its fifth straight quarter of year-over-year decline among locations open for at least a year. The company’s stock value dropped almost 18% following that news.
Denny’s investors were told that in addition to some of its stores being situated in less than ideal locations, business owners are dealing with inflation and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that changed the way Americans live.
Denny’s as many know it started in 1953 as a Lakewood, Calif., coffee shop called Danny’s Donuts, according to the company’s media page. In 1959, the growing hospitality chain changed its name to Denny’s Coffee Shop to avoid confusion with another L.A. eatery named Coffee Dan’s. It officially became known as just Denny’s in 1961.
Promotional menu items including “Moons Over My Hammy” and the “Grand Slam” breakfast helped the company establish a niche in American culture.
Denny’s introduced itself to Manhattan in 2014 with a Financial District restaurant that sold a $300 breakfast special including Dom Perignon champagne. That eatery closed in January 2018 because it wasn’t “financially sustainable,” according to Eater.
The company currently operates 34 Denny’s locations in New York State, including one in Jackson Heights, Queens.
Denny’s is just the latest in a wide range of brick-and-mortar businesses including restaurants, pharmacies, retailers and convenience stores that have recently closed underperforming operations nationwide.
With News Wire Services
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