17 Facts About Denny's

Denny's is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain.

Originally opened as a coffee shop under the name Danny's Donuts, Denny's was known for always being open and serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner 24 hours a day.

Denny's did not close on holidays and nights, except where required by law.

Denny's started franchising in 1963, and most Denny's restaurants are now franchisee-owned.

Denny's was founded by Harold Butler and Richard Jezak, who opened Danny's Donuts in Lakewood, California in 1953.

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Many Denny's locations were built near freeway offramps, leading to increasingly larger signage.

Denny's absorbed many of the old Sambo's restaurants and used their mid-century design in some of their restaurants.

In 1994, Denny's became the largest corporate sponsor of Save the Children, a national charity.

All but six Denny's closed for the first time ever on Christmas 1988; many of the restaurants were built without locks, and some of them had reportedly lost their keys.

In 1994, Denny's began renovating its stores, with a lighter color scheme; select locations began serving Baskin-Robbins ice cream for a short time.

Denny's opened its first restaurant in Australia in December 1982, in the suburb of Forest Hill, Melbourne.

In June 2012, Denny's opened a location in the Las Americas International Airport, its first location in an airport and its first in the Dominican Republic.

In July 2012, Denny's announced it had signed an agreement with a franchisee to open 50 restaurants in southern China over 15 years, beginning in 2013.

Denny's had the fewest violations, averaging fewer than one violation per restaurant.

Denny's has been involved in a series of discrimination lawsuits involving food servers denying or providing inferior service to racial minorities, especially black customers.

In 1994, Denny's settled a class action lawsuit which was filed by black customers who had been refused service, forced to wait longer, or pay more than white customers.

Denny's has made efforts at improving its public relations image by featuring African-Americans in their commercials, including one featuring Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford, actors from the popular The Jeffersons television series.