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Fairbanks, Alaska
- April 12, 2003 - "I grew up in Fairbanks and by the time I got my driver's liscese, spent every night having coffee in this Denny's with friends. I love this place! Someone you know is always there, and the waiters and waitresses are great friends! I've been hit on more in that Denny's that anywhere else, but that's beside the point. (That part is just an Alaskan thing. 7 men to 1 woman, you know.) Anyway, this place is great. Totally fun, chill experience."
- Kelsey Pierson
Scottsdale, Arizona
- August 15, 2002 - "I love your site! This is a fun topic that almost everyone has some kind of input on. You had mentioned that the Scottsdale, AZ location #6476 at Miller and McDowell looked like it had been something else. Another viewer wrote that it had been a restaurant called "Randy's" but it was actually "Grandy's." We used to eat there back in my high school days (yes, about 17 years ago), and they did have great chicken fried steak. I don't remember when it became Denny's. I now have sentimental ties to the Denny's located there. My husband and I had our first non-official date there seven years ago. We just stared at each other and talked for three hours, it was wonderful. I think I had the cheese sticks, but I'm not sure, I could have been eating mud for all I knew. Denny's set the perfect mood for 'get to know each other conversation.' Though, I was concerned that the bright lighting was washing me out. Anyway, the food there was always pretty good and the service was o.k. I haven't been there in a couple of years, I'm now closer to the Denny's on Scottsdale Rd. and Osborn."
- Melissa
Tempe, Arizona
- September 17, 2003 - "That Denny's well, I'd like to review the food but, after waiting for a LONG time I walked out. I tried again another time (just stupid I guess) and got the same treatment. Later I was in the big Fry's Electronics that that Denny's shares the same block with and got talking with a Black guy who was obviously an engineer or something, and he said he thought he got bad treatment in there because he's Black. I said I'd gotten the same treatment, I'd guessed because I'm white. (The employees etc are all hispanic in there it seems.) So, we decided they're equal-opportunity racists. Frankly I think they may have gotten so many crabby people coming out of Fry's they could have given up on everyone."
- Alexandra Carter
Fayetteville, Arkansas
- February 16, 2004 - "Don't even bother coming to the Denny's in Fayetteville AR. I have been in Denny's in AR, OK & MO for years and even though I get the expected poor service and long waits at all of them, Fayetteville takes the cake. Just yesterday we were served our drinks and given the late night menu and then read a list of items they were out of, which included any type of bread, pancakes, french toast, butter or sour cream. Prehaps they should just lock their doors and turn out the lights. At least the wait would be shorter because the three tables that usually have customers would all be empty. Don't waste your time on this one."
- Pastorlarry77
Artesia, California
- August 13, 2002 - "The Denny's sign off of the 91 Freeway is a welcome ornament to an otherwise unnoteworthy patch Artesia, California. Hemmed in by graffiti ridden signs, blank foliage straight out of Starry Night (and no offense to Van Gogh for mentioning his work in the same sentence as graffiti), and billboards in espanol--the Denny's signature emanates a glowing allure of red, and gold hope to those destined to clogged arteries, and au de pimpley skin. I've eaten here at least five times, and despite the fact that it's next to one of those "swanky" motels with a dried out pool, and an ice machine that burps every fifteen minutes, the place is virtually empty around the clock. Although I would've doubted that anyone could get rapid fire service anywhere on this planet on Sunday at high noon, this is one restaurant that defies the odds. Perhaps because the town is squeaky clean of religious zealots, or the guy on Artesia Boulevard has finally convinced folks to say no to church, and sell tulips at LAX instead? There's no crowd like the post sermon bunch! I'm thinking of locusts, and wheat fields. Nonetheless, as happy as I am to not wait, as my brother noted, there's a bit of disappointment in not having to crowd the "claw" machines, or crunch stale gum as a preface to service. I reckon it's the way Billy the Kid felt when he showed up for a gunfight only to be the only guy in the center of town--relieved, but disappointed too. The food tends toward lukewarm, and the service is not as fast as it should be according to statistics like the 5-1 staff/customer ratio, but there's an inevitable delight in "owning" a Denny's, and that's exactly what you can do here. The servers don't speak a lot of English, but the menu doesn't require advanced linguistics, and you won't mind a wild gesticulation here, and there. It all adds to the ambience, which given how pristine the nearly unused Denny's booths, and tables are...can only improve the setting. The food looks bland, but is greasy-yum-good. Just ask for the big bottle of Tabasco!"
- Brandy Price
Culver City, California
- March 18, 2004 - "there is one in culver city, near my current home. and it's one of those that has a "lounge" in back; basically a glorified "bar"/"banquet room" that they probably rent out for parties, wedding receptions, and such (like all the old Masonic temples around southern California do).
for some reason, I could NOT bring myself to go back there. first of all, it looked very dark (which I suppose is to be expected in a REAL bar, but hey, this is DENNY'S for god's sake!!), and I had a very uncomfortable feeling about buying a drink at Denny's, which I associate, on a gut level, with going to AFTER or BEFORE you've been drinking.
my friend, who has gone back there, said the drinks were overpriced, and that it was always empty and creepy.
as for the food in the culver city one (this one is on Centinela; there is another one in culver city on Overland), it's as consistently good as 95% of the ones I have been to in my life, which I think is a plus for them. when in doubt, anywhere in the country, go to a Denny's. I've been lucky to not have any bad gripes with any of them. the service was friendly and quick.
The one on Overland is about the same size, just as good service and food (and the same creepy dark backroom "bar" situation I refuse to go into), usually more crowded because it's in a mini-mall next door to a supermarket and across the street from a massive condo/apartment/townhouse complex site that goes on for blocks and blocks. Captive Denny's audience right there, pal!
this particular location on Centinela, though is always uncrowded, day or night; I think perhaps it is because it is on the other side of a big freeway onramp, and on the other side of it is a big shopping mall and other restaurants, including a very very crowded Sizzler. frankly, if my friend had not told me it was there, I'd never had known it was there.
it's not a good location, but they are still in business to this very day, and they have been there about 20 years that I know of. the location on overland has been there at least ten. when I was a kid, it was something like a Copper Penny restaurant."
- Rosenda E. Moore
El Cajon, California
- October 2, 2002 - "Denny's #1, corner of Magnolia & Naranca Streets:
This Denny's is small, but quick. Located in the same building as some wacko sports bar, various and sundry drunk, agitated, proud, humbled, depressed or otherwise not-emotionally-normal individuals often stagger into Denny's after their team (or wallet) has won/lost. There are also a fair amount of homeless types hanging around as El Cajon seems to be San Diego County's homeless capital. At any rate, on someone's prom night (not my own mind you, though that would have epitomized my white trashness) some teeneagers were hanging out very late, obviously with no better place to go, the poor bastards! They were all decked out in their fancy garb and looked weary from a night of, ahem, dancing. One of the girls, in a lime green poofy hideous sparkly dress, appeared to be getting to go to the bathroom. One of the aforementioned homeless types was situated at the bar and addressed a comment to her, which she and her compatriots chose to ignore. On her way back from powdering her nose, the man at the bar grew a little more insistent. He lurched at her as she casually stepped out of harms way, only this time her date noticed and hastily came to her aide. "What did you say?" he sneered at the man who could only reply in garbled, mumbled words then proceeded to vomit all over the poor dressed up youth. Luckily for the homeless man, two El Cajon police officers happened to be having their break and were walking in at the exact moment vomit was spewing from his gob. They grabbed him and yanked him away to the patrol car before the soiled youth could retaliate, though he followed them shouting profanity and wanting the homeless vomiter to be brought up on assualt charges. Lucky for us we were done with our meal and ready to leave. ;o)
Denny's #2: West Main Street & Interstate Highway 8 This story is not nearly as fun as the last, but it serves its purpose. While visiting this Denny's on a Saturday morning while our car was being serviced (lots of car dealers within walking distance to this one), my wife and I were pleasantly enjoying our plates of grease when from out of nowhere a horrendus screeching of tires and revving of motors pierced the otherwise still morning air. Two jackasses were involved in an illegal street race! They came barrelling from down the hill and just when it looked like the brand new, shiny Mustang was going to win, he spun out and smacked into a telephone pole narrowly missing yet another homeless lady who had stopped to witness the race. The 'Stang was totalled and the fellow race simply drove off, probably laughing all the way at his "good" fortune. The Mustang driver, seemingly unharmed, exited his vehicle to inspect the damage, which was quite extensive.
The poor souls of El Cajon have now been immortalized on your Denny's Fan Site. This is one of my proudest moments! ;o) Thanks for reading!"
- Mr. Overturf
El Segundo, California
- June 28, 2002 - "How could you miss this one? I dunno the address but it is right across the St. from the Los Angeles Air Force Base. Although there are no aircraft at the base, only satellite antennas, this Denny's is notable for its intermittantly flickering interior lights. There must be something going on at the base that's draining the electricity in the area. Anyhow, the food is mediocre as always, but it is good to have a 24 hour rest. around in an area where constant robberies keep most others places dark after 8pm. Like your site."
- David
Fairfield, California
- March 6, 2002 - "Friend of mine lives up in Fairfield and one time when I was up there after bumming around re-living the teenage years we never had playing shitty videogames and whatnot, we decided to get a late night bite to eat. Being Fairfield, there wasn't a whole heck of a lot open after 10pm, so Denny's was an obvious choice. Then came the bigger choice... which Denny's? The one on the left side of the street, or the one on the right side of the street. I shit you not, there are two Denny's locations practically across the street from each other. I've now been to both of them but forgot to ask the waitstaff, well... why there are two of them less than a mile apart?"
- Ian Kasley
Hawthorne, California
- March 18, 2004 - "Well, the food was damn good (EXCELLENT pancakes and EXCELLENT spicy buffalo chicken sandwich and EXCELLENT fries AND damn good coffee, even at 4pm in the afternoon); but that has got to be, architecturally speaking, the SMALLEST Denny's I have ever been too. Hell, even the Denny's in Barstow and the one off the Las Vegas Strip are BIGGER than this one, in terms of floor space. Even smaller than Rocker Denny's. However, the service is good, the decor sad and tired and dark, but clean, everybody is smiling that works there and they are quick and thorough. The clientele....well, being that Hawthorne is considered sort of the suburbs, there is the usual mix of churchgoers over the age of 50 dressed in their sunday best church suits and hats (mostly women), the so-called "white trash" family groups (mostly women under 30 with a couple of screaming kids in tow who curse a lot and smell like smoke), the young latinas with kids (who are usually better behaved than their mothers, who tend to smell like cigarettes too, and are always dressed in their cha-cha tops and tight jeans and platform shoes), and to my amusement the last time I was there, I saw this older biker dude wearing a really fly black porkpie hat, shiny satin baseball jacket, jeans and cowboy boots with his wife and kids; that guy I SWEAR is some character actor we've all seen on dozens of tv shows and films, but I have NO idea what his name is. He was very entertaining and loud, with a heavy New York accent. Guess he lives in the area. Anyway, that's my two cents. Hope it was helpful. Keep up the good work and I hope you enjoy further Denny's adventures!"
- Rosenda E. Moore
Irvine, California
- April 7, 2004 - "When I lived in Irvine for college we would actually drive 6 miles out of our way to the one on 14160 Culver Drive off of the 5 freeway. We never went to the one in the University Marketplace on Campus Drive and it has since shut down. About the Culver one: it is excellent. We always would go for late night study nights. They never would ask us to leave even after sitting at a booth for 3 hours one time. The waiters/waitress aren't the friendliest just doing their job but when we could get the 2.99 Grand Slam anytime, it didn't matter. Once we tried to use a coupon from a website and this 40ish year old man who was the manager would not allow us. Ridiculous!! Oh well, it has been great. The night before my boyfriend's birthday at midnight, they gave us a free dessert (we were studying for a final exam). Sorry no WAY here but maybe some day. The Grand Slam is great! I especially love the Buffalo Chicken strips. Wish I could be there now."
- Crissy Daniel
LaVerne, California
- March 20, 2005 - "I ran into the owner of this (and many other Southern California Denny's Restaruants). He runs a tight ship and I know any time I step into one of his it's going to be clean with good quality. LaVerne, CA. is one of my favorite Denny's to frequent. Servers are (mostly) friendly and the food just tastes better here. I used to eat at the corporate stores but found them to be too run-down and a bit dirty. This was different. Clean restrooms and booths. Food looked like the pictures in the menu. All in all it was a good experience and I go a bit out of my way (I pass 2 other Denny's in my area) to dine at this one. It's got that old Diner feel to it. And a little history... it sits at the only place where Baseline and Route 66 meet. They just need more parking space!!"
- Jenny McQuown
Lompoc, California
- July 26, 2002 - "Hi there ! My name is Jenny. My husband James and I live in Brussels (Belgium). (Yeah, well, not our fault !) We visit the U.S. almost every year (we have relatives in Lompoc, CA) and we just LOOOOOVE to eat at Denny's (especially breakfast). I am a big Moon over my Hammy's fan and James is more into the skillet thing (Meat Lovers, ...), but we also love the slams and the steak'n'eggs and ... and ... EVERYTHING !!! We are coming to the States again in about four weeks and we are already going over the Denny's menu to make our first selection. Needless to say that Denny's doesn't exist over here but even worse, the whole concept of a "family restaurant" is unknown here (can you imagine our agony ?!). The only thing we can do to survive is make ourselves a real home style brunch on Sunday mornings, with bacon, sausage, hashed browns, etc... which we then eat with our eyes closed, dreaming ourselves in a Denny' (it gets kind of messy from time to time, but that's the price to pay). Anyway, I must say that I'm kind of envious of your job, but some guys just have all the luck. Keep up the good thing !"
- Jenny
Marysville, California
- November 30, 2002 - "Just gotta re-inforce your previous correspondant on the local Denny's. The worst. I no longer go there under any circumstance (even when every other restaurant in the area is closed, and that does happen).
As a diabetic, I must eat on a fairly regular schedule, and since I am using insulin, I must inject myself prior to eating, and must eat within about 15 minutes of the injection. On the night in question, last summer, I entered Denny's (alone) and found it about one-third occupied. I went to the restroom to test my blood and take my injection (I don't even want to go into the concept of using my stuff in a typical Denny's bathroom -- it's scary!).
I then took my seat, ordered a slam of some sort, and waited. Coffee came soon. Nothing else. After 20 minutes, I asked the waitress to check on the order. She proceeded to the passthrough...nothing. After another coffee or three, again I sent her to check. About this time, the crowd from the local ampitheater had just ended a concert and started to file into the restaurant. Soon all tables were filled, there was a waiting line, and most of the newcomers were getting served.
Finally, exactly 55 minutes after I took my shot (I write down the time in my little logbook), as my blood sugar was tumbling like an avalanche, I left the table and proceeded to the cash register, told the manager I was leaving, and offered to pay for the coffee. At that point, the original waitress grabbed a plate off the passthrough and said I could have that breakfast. However, it was not the one I ordered; they were willing to let another customer get screwed so I would stick around for my lousy six bucks or so. I declined their generous offer and again offered to pay for the coffee. In what was the only decent gesture of the evening, the refused to accept the buck whatever.
As a sidenote, I was eating in the Taco Bell across the street about a month later when a guy walked in with his family, totally torked off about not getting served after more than 30 minutes at Denny's. I completely understood.
We've got Lyons, Coco's, Perko's and Applebees here in the Twin Cities of Marysville and Yuba City as well as a few independent coffee shop style joints, and Denny's will just have to live without me in perpetuity. (The above story is only the last straw in 30 plus years of disappointments at that spot... but I have only myself to blame, because I kept trying trying again.
By the way, I look a little like Wierd Al, only older, fatter and shorter."
- Mike Blachman
Merced, California
- January 17, 2004 - "The denny's in Merced, CA, is one of the better ones I've been to over the years, but it does have a few problems.... Since it's a franchised location, it's their choice whether or not to participate in national promotions (like the $1.99 grand slam). This Denny's location instead creates their own grand slam promotions with very restricted hours (like 7AM-10AM). Also, when they remodeled a few years ago, they installed a light-blue neon light that goes across the top of the counter that is so bright & such a weird shade of blue that it seems to burn into your brain... it's very distracting! You can actually see these blue lights glowing through the front windows from the freeway (even in broad daylight!) as you're driving by. It's the same shde of blue that's used in those bug-zapper lights...lol! Anyway, their service is good, their food is usually served just the way you ordered it, they do their chocolate milkshakes just right; All-in-all it rates around an 8 on a scale of 1-10. If you're in the Merced area of California's Central Valley and want a Denny's that participates in the nationally advertised promotions, it's worth going about 5 miles down the road to Atwater, CA to a 2-year old Denny's that's very clean and very consistant on food quality. The Atwater Denny's is a little slower on service (2-5 minutes slower), but if you want a $1.99 grand slam, that's your best bet in Merced County, CA. PS: I'm a nightclub DJ, so I've eaten hundreds, if not thousands, of late night meals at many different Denny's round the state of CA...."
- Ken S
Monterey, California
- November 9, 2003 - "This Denny's has average service but a very friendly wait-staff. This is the only Denny's that I've visited which has its own Tavern. The Tavern serves alcohol, like any other bar, and also hosts a weekly karaoke night. I think this is about the most ingenious Denny's idea ever - as one can go get drunk then walk through a door and sober up with some coffee and an All American Slam."
- Cody Sharp
Novato, California
- October 2, 2002 - "Okay this is about the Novato Denny's. It's true it WAS the best Denny's I've ever been too. All my friends and I would go hang out there after the rodeo or whatever and there was one kick ass waitress that did make the best sunday's BUT that Denny' was independantly owned by a grocery store or something like that. Anyways to make a long story short they closed it and that really sucked. Where the hell are people supposed to go? Especially late at night. If you've ever been to Novato you'd know there's not much else to do. And on top of that now there's only one Denny's in ALL of Marin county and it's all the way in quartamedera. That's about 20 min away from Novato. To top it all off that Denny's is the only place in all of Marin that people under 21 can go after midnight. It's sad really. When our Denny's closed it was like the end of an era. Thank God I moved anyways just thought I'd let ya know Tootles."
- DixieBubbles66
Pasadena, California
- January 27, 2003 - "The Denny's on the east side of Pasadena was an excellent example of authentic coffee shop architecture until 2001 or so, when some genius decided to re-do it in a phoney diner style. The interior and exterior natural rock walls were painted (two different colors!), the full width windows were narrowed and a bunch of chrome was added. The food has never been very good here (it gives me the runs about half the time) and now the decor matches the meals. The Denny's Diner concept should be reserved for newer shopping mall locations, not authentic original coffee shops. Why can't they get it right?"
- Hal Carter
Pomaona, California
- September 17, 2003 - "That Denny's actually kicks ass. The food is decent, the service great, the people nice, etc. And they get SLAMMED with customers on some weekends, they deserve a medal! It's still Denny's food but they do the best with what they have. And they're a 24-hour one like they're supposed to be too. By the way, if the Grand Slam isn't cheap enough for you, one way to get *something* that will last you a while for b'fast is get a side of corned beef hash. That's only like $1.65 and unless you're a really big person it will do you just fine. "
- Alexandra Carter
Sacramento, California
- January 4, 2005 - "I have been working for this company since 1991. My boss has been here for 17 yrs. We have an employee, William, the best waiter and the only waiter, he has been here since 1995. We have a waitress in the am, Diana, she has been here since it opened in 1978. I am Michelle the tall blonde, by the way. Don't forget Edna. She is the person in charge early in the am. At least give us a buzz. If you want pics I got em. Even the Gm with his mini mullet."
- Michelle
Santa Rosa, California
- April 14, 2002 - "The bathrooms at the Santa Rosa, CA Denny's are like a bad acid trip. (The Santa Rosa Ave. one, never been to the other)... Is this how all Denny's bathrooms are? *shudder* I guess that's all..."
- Bestet
Vacaville, California
- February 24, 2003 - "I dont know which shift the above guy went to the vacaville denny's, but if you go there late night, the servers are gorgeous, we'd go just for the eye candy, but the service is good too. The new nighttime manager is pretty foxy also, if you ever get a peep at her, shes usually in the kitchen. The new cook is pretty cool, he dances around the kitchen flipping eggs, his nametag says "Emett, AKA Big Daddy". Definetly the hippest Dennys around."
- Bob
Grand Junction, Colorado
- November 9, 2003 - "This is my old hangout. I was, as you so aptly put it, an Alternateen. Service here has always been great, and better once the staff get to know you. One downfall, sadly, is that they don't like unknown loiterers and have a 2-refill rule if you don't order food. Additionally, even if you order food, you have a two hour limit after you finish your meal. The staff is very colorful, including one man who is very effeminate, but unconfirmed. It sits right off of I-70, so if you're ever passing through this part of the country you should definitely go."
- Cody Sharp
Enfield, Connecticut
- July 25, 2002 - "As for the Queen of Cold Coffee here in Enfield: Before people pass judgement on the employees of a Denny's they should realize that we are people too. I don't know how many people are all smiles when surrounded by drunk morons who demand more than possible. As for Ma specifically, she is a loved and missed icon at our store. Had this person taken the time to know her they would have seen a loving a loyal employee of over 20 years, a person who would always give any she had; even if it meant shorting herself. Things at Denny's in Enfield won't ever be the same since Ma passed, they will never be as good as they were."
- EWcheercoachJV
- October 23, 2003 - "I used to hang out in Denny's in when I was in High School (1986 - 1990). There was a waitress there named "Ma", not Mamma as a previous viewer had stated. She loved to tell jokes to everyone and it is true that she could 'be quite mean sometimes. She once chased me out the door with a fork and knife in her hand because I didn't have enough money to meet the minimum order requirement. Sadly, she passed away a couple of years ago, but Enfield, CT is a cool town. You must visit."
- Greg Kranz
Boca Raton, Florida
- October 3, 2003 - "Went to breakfast yesterday, sent complaints to Denny's, the Palm Beach County Environmental Health Department and the Florida DPR Hotel and Restaurant Division....also dropped a line to the Denny's Franchise Convention manager on their website as I was shocked to see that the National convention next month is in Boca..... why was I shocked and why all the complaints? MOLD and lots of it, disgusting, smelly, rank and not just a little bit. Waitress seated my daughter and I in a booth, I immediately got a bad odor of mold like a cellar in New Jersey. I looked at the window sill, obvious dirty and growing black mold. I looked up and the wallpaper was peeling off the walls, not just in one spot, but all around the dining room. The waitress offered to move us, I pointed out tables not near the walls, she said it was "worse up there". Another booth on the other side of the restaurant was no better. We left. A couple of waitresses were out front having a smoke, said they knew it was a problem but obviously not enough of one, or they were unaware of the health hazards, both to customers and themselves. One asked me to call OSHA for them. No one from Denny's has bothered to reply to my complaint, so hopefully this post will warn people until they raze this building...."
- J. Young
Clearwater, Florida
- October 12, 2003 - "I am the New Late night manager of Denny's #1034 in Clearwater, Florida across from Country Side Mall , I think the wild and crazy kids that hang out at all hours of the night , though yes quite loud at times, are a pleasure to have around. They add to the fun of the job and to the late night experience. I mean really what do you expect at 2:30am a nice quite dinning experience? I think not. You might get that most of the day but durring the Bar rush. I think not. One last point: the group of young adults that hang at this Denny's are in a safe place and well liked by staff and management. If my kids were out all night I would be very pleased to know they were at Denny's."
- John Tims
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- May 17, 2002 - "Just for the heck of it, my wife and I decided one evening to try our "favorite" denny's one more time. We were not disappointed. The fat waitress still had her deep cough after at least two years. She leaned over on her elbows onto our table to rake our orders and coughed again and again, cigarettes I suppose. I asked if they still had the same manager and she said, "yes" as she glanced over her shoulder laughing in her deep throated, guttural laugh as the boss swished by, a deep black with a braided pony tail. My wife thought he was sweet. The food was awful, the service no better and Denny's again lived up to it's reputation. We laughed as we left since we knew it was a crap shoot when we went in. for the last time. "
- Jack
Gainesville, Florida
- June 22, 2004 - "It is well known here that the Dennys on University avenue is the nastiest, dirtiest, most disgusting Dennys ever. IF that weren't enough, they are also very rude. You are better of going to Perkins. If you are feeling adventurous, try the "43rd Street Deli". The breakfasts are tremendously tasty and even cheaper than Dennys"
- John
Kissimmee, Florida
- April 8, 2002 - "Woooooohoooo!! As a complete and self-admitted Denny's addict, I had great pleasure in stumbling across your fantastic site! It is my boyhood dream (and I'm still 16) to travel across America with my best friend Emma in a van, hunting down every Denny's, Ponderosa, Wild Jack's, Shell's and Popeye Joe's! You see, I live in the UK, but every year, my Dad and I travel to Florida where we are made to feel welcome every morning for two weeks at the Denny's on Highway 192, Kissimmee. Hell, we know every waitress' name by heart! We always sit at the bar and order one of those huge glasses of juice and a Grand Slam.....mmmmmmmmm. Only, as reliable as Denny's is (especially a 24-hour one) we were SHOCKED to arrive at the same Denny's on Christmas Eve, after eargerly anticipating another fantastic meal, to find it in darkness! It was closed! We had to make do with a sandwich and some dorito's!! Well thats my 2-cents - hopefully I will follow in your footsteps in years to come, and hopefully there'll be even more restaurants to visit!! By the way, is there anyway I can get my hands on some cool Denny's merchandise? I don't mind paying!"
- Billy Phatu
Margate, Florida
- April 1, 2005 - "Interesting site... I unfortunately am not a big fan of Denny's. Although we were reminiscing last night about how we used to love their Mother Butler Pies, which is how I found this sitelooking for them. This love has come and gone because if they still serve them they don't taste the same or have the same variety. There used to be a Mother Butlers next door to a Denny's in Ft. Lauderdale. A separate building where you could go and have "PIE" yum you could eat in or take a pie home but no longer. Wonder what happened. The Denny's in Margate is a disappointment. It seems it has an odor of wet or mildewed carpet that never goes away. My daughter likes Denny's, kid's pizza, so sometimes I do go. But usually not until I have tried to talk her out of it."
- Gaenie
Merritt Island, Florida
- January 5, 2005 - "We were at a Denny's before Xmas in Merritt Island Florida. Well I have to say its the worse ever. There were 5 tables in a row that sat dirty for over 30 minutes and when they did clean off the dishes they did not wiped them till they needed them. It was not busy there either. Also the waitress was not a good one at all she was very abrupted when I asked for wheat toast, and I got white with my order.Had this face on like why am I there and she has to wait on us. Never came to see if we needed anything. But most of all the dirty place it was I will never eat at another Denny's again. I was hoping that their was a site to email right to the owener of this Denny's. So if so please let me know."
- Carole
Ocoee, Florida
- January 4, 2003 - "dennys was always my favorite place to eat. untill i stoped in ocoee dennys it was 30% out and not any warmer inside. the heater was broke, the waitress was wearing a coat that looked like she had worked on her car first. the ceiling was leaking and tile was laying around through out the resturant. there was a waitress out side emtying the garbage can then came in and started serving without washing her hands.. another waitress was cleaning up milk that was pouring out on the floor. and serving at the same time.the Gm was cussing like a trooper at most of the help and hugging another waitress and talking dirty it was more than discusting... try some plase else if your in town."
- hank
- October 31, 2003 - "Denny's Ocoee Florida not only DOES NOT participate in the Diversity program that the Corporate Stores brag about, they do not practice the Federal guidelines that protect the rights of the workers. Which include harrassment, retaliation, bias and predjudice. The one thing you can say about the Ocee Florida Denny's is that they treat everyone the same. LIKE CRAP@@@@@@"
- James & Kim Smith
Orlando, Florida
- January 28, 2003 - "I ran across your web page and quite frankly it brought back alot of memmories back to me. Like the way management treat employees...I can tell you they are hard on them, but the one with the cushie job is the general manager, he are she sits in their little office on their phone chatting with either their girlfreinds are their co managers are yacking with their dis leader. I know that they are harder on the unit manager especaly if female, My daughter used to unit in orlando fl. for a franchise, her GM. was steve wasserman and they treated this kid like pure shit, they worked her 14 hours a day and accused her of stealing $100.00, and knowing that his other manager stole over $5000.00 they fired her for a employee stealing the money, why did they accuse her? One she was a woman,2 she was young and 3 she knew to much on her managers, she still works for dennys but a different franchise. The manager in question if a nice looking server was hired if she didn't sleep with him he fired her, also the G.M. was into the same. So each time I see a dennys comercial I think about the abuse one indures working for them. Cooks sweat over food, blow their noses eats off plates drops food and serves it. The servers are just as bad, watch em next time your in one, DO they WASH their hands are not???NO dirty approns, green food in unworking refrigerators, Makes me wish I was an inspector I shout a few of them down, So people if your reading these , in which i dought they will be published, don't eat at Dennys on OBT (Both) kississimi the one by sea world mainly orlando area, they are owned by the same, poor service bad food. Poor Management..............oh and when its time for inspection, they get warned in advance, so they clean all nite and make it look nice for the inspector.And if your planing on eating down south SAME franchise, they took shoneys and turned into dennys, in which they should of left them shoneys..... wish to remain anoynamous for they will atack my daughter"
- Anoynamous
- March 1, 2004 - "In response to the comments about the crossdressers and Denny's in Orlando Fl: The Rocky Horror Picture Show also plays at the Universal Studios Theater every other week. Stop by the Denny's at S. Kirkman/LB Mcleod Rd Friday or Saturday at 3 a.m. and the whole cast and crew come with some friends of theirs afterward. It's also a wonderful Denny's, even without the crossdressers."
- ursula draus
Plant City, Florida
- October 3, 2002 - "We have the baddest old grandma that is a 72 year old German redneck that works here. She has been with this Denny's longer than the doors have been opened. She is my best friend, and she is what makes my Denny's the best there is, b/c she adds spice to the life of Denny's. We also give great service, with not only a smile, but a large chuckle."
- Toni M.
Titusville, Florida
- August 9, 2004 - "I used to love that one late graveyard shift. We'd hang out and play a "quick" game of Risk or caffeine speed rounds of SkipBo. Oh man we called it "The place" on the phone in case our bored TPD was tapping our phone line that night. Who else remembers the players? "Joseph"- the psychic 150yr old Italian gigolo.(seriously he claimed to be 150)Just say hello and you're in for an hours psychic interpretation/reading.then there's "Dale" everyones favorite waiter,to this day I'm still trying to pay him back for all those freebies and not throwing us to the curb...we have "Pothead Paul" I'd think another Denny's manufactured clone yet I went to high school with him...unless Denny's is far more advanced than we'd anticipated...AAUUGGHH the genius. Integrating the clones into society prior to their occupation....hmmm. "Amy-Sue" the goody-goody that's a wild child at heart. The old floks love her cause she's so sweet but if they knew she was raised on the back of a Harley by her bottle slinging mother. That brings me to "Krysti" I'm not sure if it's her or not but one night the bartender and this other waitress also named Amy got into one mighty good cat fight right outside "OUR" window. Nice and I never got to thank them. And TPD was finally Happy they had 'someth'n to do'. All that has ended with the remodel and all. Lights so bright doctors wander in mistaking it for their operating room. The stray cats have moved across the street to the McD's and most sadly the Super WLMRT. Killing what fun we could have at night on this end of town. Well down to the marina with us fool-hearties or perhaps a stroll along the tracks...Although I'm way too old now to be able to get away with those things. Oh I nearly forgot "The Theory" a Denny's classic. Original credit goes to "Dr.John" Messing in Ft.Lauderdale Fl. We used to frequent an establishment named Dan's maybe you've come across a few. A diner classic not corrupted by commercialism and the competitors need to "upgrade". The theory goes like this..An explanation to why their food and coffee are so addictive.The "King"(of dan's/denny's) ordered his princesses to work for him(wait staff) ordered to watch and protect them in his far off kingdoms are his minions/clones (any male staff) they have "Powers" be careful around them. The princesses are searching for a new King and have gone to the ends of the earth to find him. In order to find him they must observe him for weeks on end. To keep him coming back they've made their food addictive. How so? Notice the slack of homeless outside? Well the king's minion lure them down to the Rinker factory (one in almost every town there's a denny's)where they are ground into powder and integrated with the coffee,syrup,catsup etc...It's addictive because of all the drugs homeless do. So why give it to women? The King is looking for more concubines to produce more princesses. It's "scariest" in places where you've passed the Rinker factory on the way to Denny's."
- Lorelei
Wildwood, Florida
- September 2, 2002 - "This Denny's restaurant is located at a somewhat critical exit along a fairly sparsely populated stretch of I-75 and, as such, is frequented by perhaps many road-weary travelers each day. (It is also a major truck stop along I-75 in Florida). We have now had two totally negative dining experiences at this particular location and have informed the management of it as well. This evening we were promptly seated and served water, order taken rapidly (looked pretty promising); however, as we watched diners come and go over the course of the next half hour (not having received our silverware or salads), we began wondering if, in fact, our waitress had gotten locked in the bathroom! When we requested that another waitress ask ours to come to the table, she said that she was "working" on our salads....(what was she doing back there? Handwashing each piece of sredded lettuce?)....she made some vague attempt at apology and said that she'd be right back......tick-tock....another 5 minutes elapse....when the food arrives (small salad and soup)...we realize that we never ordered soup but two salads....were we in the "twilight zone"?? At this point, we figured that it might be another ten minutes before getting our correct order along with the missing silverware so we exited the restaurant. Unfortunately, someone appearing to be "management" was milling around as though he was in a fog which may translate into the debacle which the diners there this evening were all experiencing....chaos in the kitchen at it's finest here, folks!! I've realized over time that when one sees either a "help wanted" sign on the markee and/or an obviously absent or comatose manager, you'd better reconsider being seated or it may well turn into a horrendous dining experience. Just thought this note might save some tired traveler unnecessary headache and frustration......Thank you for providing this forum."
- Jackson Straub
Columbus, Georgia
- November 26, 2003 - "Had been a fan of Denny's for years although I have become disgusted with the dirty floors, indifferent waitresses, and unclean restrooms for the past several (10) years. Today was my last visit to Denny's anywhere. I took my adult son and teenage daughter to Denny's on Victory Drive near Fort Benning for a late breakfast. Being a nonsmoker for the past 20 years, I resented having to navigate thru the smoking section, which appeared to be about 90% of the restaurant. Even when seated in the nonsmoking section, the smell was still pervasive and stale. I have always like their menu so that is why I decided to try Denny's once again after approximately 8 years. Last time was in Denny's near Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. That was a pleasant experience since that was a new or renovated Denny's, clean, courteous wait staff, etc. Today was a marked contrast. We were seated after standing for 5-6 minutes near the door trying to catch the attention of the hostess. Finally she walked us thru the smoking section to the small seating area for nonsmokers in an area that obviously had been added after the initial construction. This was a patio-type area that was enclosed now but not part of the main dining area. About 2/3 of the tables had customers. In our area were small families with small children and a few couples at other tables. The waiter ambled over after another 7-8 minutes and handed us menus. He did not take our drink orders at this time. The longer we sat there the more I noticed the other customers who appeared irritated at the lack of attention and length of wait for food orders. Two small children at separate tables began to cry and ask for food as their parents tried to calm them. One child actually threw a fit and had to be threatened by a parent and taken outside for disciplining. In any event, I began to notice the appearance of the wait staff and nearly all wore dirty, stained shirts or blouses and many were unkempt looking. We finally got our drink orders after about 15 minutes. No refills during the remainder of our time there however. The overall appearance of the room was dirty with numerous littered tables that had not been cleaned yet. My table was sticky, too. The bottom line is that we waited for over 30 minutes as others around us became irritated as well at their lack of service. I finally got up placed a few dollars on the table to cover the drinks and informed the waiter to cancel our order because we were tired of waiting. My waiter was a young man in his early to mid twenties, but unfortunately I did not ask for his name. I will never return to this establishment and will encourage others to refrain from doing so as well. Being a glutton for punishment I told my children that we would try the Denny's on Macon Road where things had to be better. They were, somewhat. This restaurant was newer, cleaner and in a better location. I informed the waitress of our bad experience at the other location but added that we liked the food at Denny's so came here. They were not busy as it was about 10:30 AM at this time. She said it would only take about 0-15 minutes for our order and apologized for the other location saying that it was not a good Denny's and was well know for staffing problems. Unfortunately, it took 22 minutes for our order to arrive after the drinks (my son timed it) although it was not a busy time. Food was so so, not hot, barely warm. My daughter watched it sit on the counter for over 5 minutes before our waitress picked it up and brought it to us. I might add that the waitress was nowhere to be seen for over 15 minutes and finally returned from outside the entrance when she noticed the food sitting there. Smoke break or on a personal errand? The one bright spot was that our waitress, although inefficient, was courteous. Good-bye Denny's. That was your last chance."
- Frank Evans
Kihei, Maui, Hawaii
- January 15, 2004 - "In July of 2003 we stayed in Maui. We ate Breakfast at Dennys in Kihei. We enjoyed it very much. The food was good and the service was excellent. We became attached to one of the waitress. We requested her everytime we went. She went above and beyond her job. We still stay in touch with her. I would recommend eating at Denny's in Kihei and request Nai as your waitress!"
- Teresa.Abney
Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
- August 10, 2002 - "Oh Dear! Obviously you have not been to Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. The Denny's here is really nasty, actually it sucks! The service is lousy and the food just as bad. The prices never are in co-ordination with any world-wide Denny's promotion. They are never a participating restaurant, go figure!.. Thank goodness there are many other places to eat."
- New2maui
Idaho Falls, Idaho
- November 9, 2003 - "Idaho has a lot of the Mormon influence, so I would always get a few stares when I came in with long hair and ordered copious amounts of coffee. However, the staff here is great and the food is as it should be. I was here when Denny's first came out with it's own cappuccino. "
- Cody Sharp
Belleville, Illinois
- April 20, 2002 - "I have been a cook at DENNY'S for almost 18 years ,and while I enjoyed you're website immensely, I would like to defend the DENNY'S that I work at. We have fast and freindly service at a very reasonable price, and or food is mighty tasty. I would like to invite you to the the DENNY'S in Belleville Illinois we are located next to the Belle-Clair Fairground's. Please visit us and find out we're not all the same."
- Ed Hitch
Fairview Heights, Illinois
- August 28, 2004 - "Just a note that as of Monday, August 23rd, 2004, at 1:30pm this Denny's location is no more. Declining sales and an expiring lease led to the closing of this store. I worked there for 5 years as a late-night host before getting my real job, so I'm a bit sad to see it go. If anyone wonders, it was a company owned store, #0841, and opened in March of '75."
- Patrick McClintick
Mokena, Illinois
- April 6, 2002 - "Good morning: I was pleased to read the fine things that your web site had to say about my Denny's located in Mokena, Illinois.
Yes, I am the proud owner of this establishment and we have been a Denny's franchisee for 10 years now. I noted with a great deal of humor and pride that someone mentioned that they had gotten great service from a waiter named Joel and that Joel had been fired.
That was news to me, Joel still works for us at our Denny's, he did leave for a time to do his patriotic duty of serving in the United States Army, but he is back now and doing fine. The customers do love him and that is not a surprise to me, you see Joel is my son and I Own this franchised location.
I noted with a great deal of humor that your many reviews of the more than 1500 Denny's Locations thru out the United States. I also read with great interest your letter from the President of Denny's Mr. Ron Petty, who was a very fine man.
Mr. Petty left Denny's a few years ago and was replaced by Mr. Romandetti, who has also left Denny's and has become a Denny's franchisee. Shows we have a great brand. Which Mr. Romandetti did a lot to help us achieve
Since Mr. Romandetti left, we have a new President who's name is Mr. Marcholli, who brings quite a bit to the table. I really think that he is moving in the right direction and soon Denny's will be everything we expect in America's Kitchen table.
In our Market, our store has received quite a few accolades in the ten years we have been a franchisee. Last year our store was selected over all other restaurants in the State of Illinois (of any brand) as the "Restaurant Neighbor of the Year Award" winner, by the Illinois Restaurant Association.
Also last year (2001), the Chicago Tribune selected or Denny's as one of the Four Best places in the Chicago Area to get Pancakes.
Last year, we were selected by the Daily Southtown as one of the "Best Burgers anywhere they were referring to our Double Decker Burger."
Also, the Chicago Tribune has in prior years named us as one of the Best Places categories. Best Place After Midnight, Best Places for Comfort Food, Best Places for Breakfast, Best Places for a Hot Beverage (Coffee), Best Places for Kids and One of the Best Places for a Cheap Date and coincidently, we recieved a special mention as One of the Best Places to Pop the Question?????????? As such, if you ask your intended to marry you and it makes the paper that you proposed in our Denny's we will buy you your Grand Slam Breakfast!
With all of the above, why aren't we in Zagat.com???? I hope the readers of your column, stop at our Denny's in Mokena, Illinois and send you an e.mail, if they had a pleasant experience, if not; look for either Joe, Susan, Tamian or Joel Terrell and we will make sure that it is right.
We enjoy being America's Breakfast Table. We enjoy our customers. And I really loved reading the many comments in your web site.
I realize that not all guest experiences mentioned in your web site are homeruns, heck; some aren't even bunt singles. You need good people to fill the bases, then you can hit a Grand Slam. Hey at $2.99 that's a deal.
But the key is good people, remember our servers are human and they have a tough job. Go any where else and get a better meal, with great service by great people all the time, know what; it won't happen. Only at Denny's"
- Joey Allen Terrell
Portage, Indiana
- February 24, 2004 - "Well, I have been a Òregular at the Denny's located at the corner of US Route 6 & Christman Road in Portage, Indiana for a few years now. I've survived through a good number of waiters and waitresses. And yet, if you walk in there on an evening, you'll likely see me. New wait staff quickly gets to know me, and my order. Usually, bring a coffee & a water, and then check what I want. ÒBoca Burger w/ seasoned? or ÒCountry Fried Potato's w/ White Gravy (no meat!) . Then it's a few hours of conversation, and a lot of coffee. I've had my share of bad and good experiences, my preferred wait staff, and my "When are they quitting?" wait staff. I'm still there every day. If your looking for interesting conversations, coffee, and somewhere to sit well into the night, Denny's will serve you well."
- pete
Olathe, Kansas
- October 14, 2002 - "I did, at one time work the graveyard shift at the denney's in Olathe, Ks. I worked as a dishwasher until a cook position opened up. Every young person should experience this. At 2:00 in the A.M., when the bars close, every drunk bastard gets hungry and all of a sudden wants a f**king superbird. Well, If cooking for about 100 drunk assholes isnt hard enough, there's always puke to mop up, fights to break up , glass to clean up, etc. And then there is the transients off of I-35. And the crazies and the mentaly unstable who seem to roam at night and end up at Denney's. But, on the other hand, I banged a couple of waitresess earned a paycheck or two, and now I eat somewhere else."
- Dane Larkin
Richmond, Kentucky
- June 14, 2002 - "I am sad to say that the dennys in richmond, kentucky closed its doors about a year ago and now a liquor store is in its old building. Apparently their lease on the building ran out and left them without a home in richmond. The dennys in berea, kentucky continues to go strong although i always liked the richmond one the best (i lived within walking distance of it)."
- Mark Stocker
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- April 26, 2003 - "We used to enjoy Denny's for a family breakfast or travel stop or even a late night dinner. The Denny's in Baton Rouge is in need of a Remodel and a new manager! Twice we have gone and had to seat ourselves, because of slow or barely any help working. It took so long to order and get the food, the last time we walked out!!!! Another American tradition bites the dust!!!!"
- R.H.Martinez
Shreveport, Louisiana
- May 23, 2002 - "I would just like to say that my husband and I stopped in at the Denny's in Shreveport, Louisiana In May of 2002 and it was the worst service We have ever had. There were people of certain races that were waited on, after we were seated that received their food before we got ours. They were waited on by their own race. Our food was not cooked right, we couldn't get any silverware. The guy that was waiting on us commented how we liked his coffee and then did not even give us refills. Other people around us received just as poor service as we did, accept for the African American couple. If I am ever out that way again I will be certain not to eat there. No wonder IHOPS are popping up everywhere."
- Sharon Holder
Portland, Maine
- October 19, 2002 - "Problem late that night I became ill with stomach cramps and diarrhea causing me to remain in my Hotel Room an extra day and am just recovering from the effects of what I believe was the meal at that Denny's A pharmacist @ Walmart somewhere in NY State suggested '"EQUATE" an anti diarrheal liquid which cured the diarrhea and now I am almost back to normal and functioning normally in all respects. with mild stomach discomfort. I am not going to sue nor do I intend to ask for compensation. This is to advise you of a possible problem at that location"
- Angelo Zammuto
Glen Burnie, Maryland
- November 8, 2004 - "The service can be okay if you sweet talk the waitresses, but every six months the store manager, Bill gets a notion to try to get rid of the regukars...me and my best friend...all we do is sit in a corner booth that's rarely used anyway, drink our coffee, eat our food, and make chainmaille jewelry..we don't cause any problems....this time he's mandated that we cant make our chainmaille there because the rings we use tear the seats...now I don't know if you've ever seen a sterling silver 22 gauge 3/32 ID ring, but the ring would bend itself in half before even scratching the seat...there is no way in hell our rings could tear it. Bill just has a vendetta against us. One night after we had both ordered dinner, Bill ended up yelling at my friend like he was his 12 year old daughter. Oh..and almost all the waitresses are 14-17 year old girls, and Bill does the hiring...kinda suspicious...so we are all in the middle of a large boycott of that denny's.......oh and it has a rat that the staff named Andale, because they can't ever catch it."
- Talyn Draconmore
Pasadena, Maryland
- February 28, 2002 - "My friends and I are Dennys Regulers at the Dennys in Pasadena Maryland We go up there every night to enjoy our cups of coffee and the company of each other and not are crazy familys or empty apartments. Are ages Range anywhere from 17 to 54, we all are a bunch of kids at heart and some of us still are kids that will never grow up. Everyone is like Borthers and sisters at heart, we fight and some of us are closer. The service is good depending on who is serving, we are close friends with the servers and Phil is our prize server. Just thought I would let you know about this interesting phenomano at Dennys Pasadena, Maryland."
- Jackie
- November 8, 2004 - " It was an excellent Denny's which was regulars-friendly..if we needed to they let us sleep there...unfortunately it was turned into a BOB Evans a year ago...D*mn Bob Evans..that place was our home"
- Talyn Draconmore
Waldorf, Maryland
- April 1, 2002 - "Attendees: Chris, Jay, Steph
Wait-person(s): Some haggard old bag
What we ate: Chris-Grand Slam Breakfast; Steph-Moons over My Hammy; Jay-Orange Juice and the Club Sandwich
After a half-dozen pitchers at a local bar called "Rascals," which is the bar equivalent of Denny's, we decided to head over to Denny's and have a quick bite. Our waitress was a grizzled old woman with a massive chip on her shoulder. She reeked of stale-ass cigarette smoke and had one of those really deep smoker's voices. Plus she was mean. After about a millions years, she finally came over to our table and asked us what we wanted (like she cared!). We gave her our orders and she just walked away without even pretending like she was glad to server us (WTF?). Anyways, that was messed up. When you go into Denny's, you pay for friendly and fast service. After half an hour passed with no sign of our food or the washed up hag, we were getting a little antsy so we made our way to the cashier's desk. Nobody was there, so we yelled through the food window for help. Some fat guy with no apron on told us that that old lady had died on smoke break and we were out of luck. Alright, she didn't die, but she might as well have. Later, we finally got our food and it looked just like it did on the menu--A+. We scarfed it down quickly becuase some punk looking 12 year olds in the booth next to us were starting to scare us. Plus Stephanie puked. My food was pretty good, but Jay thought his club sandwich was "pre-prepared." I think he was right. Stephanie gave her Moons over My Hammy highest marks for presentation and taste. Anyways, since Stephanie had to go and puke and those little kids were eyeing us in a really creepy way, we had to go. Unfortunately, we were unable to take a picture of our waitress because we never saw here after she took our orders. And we didn't have a camera. But it didn't matter because she died or whatever anyway. Overall, a decidedly mediocre Denny's experience. Pales in comparison to the superior (and newer) College Park Denny's experience. Didn't have the depressingly under-budgetly charm of Beltsville Denny's or the "used-to-be-a-Waffle-House" facade of the Iowa City, Iowa Denny's.
WAY: 47
Free Stuff: Menu. Forks (2). Spoon, Plastic (1). Orange Juice Carafe."
- Christopher Miles
Holyoke, Massachusetts
- October 29, 2003 - "The year was 1995. After five years of hiding in my apartment, I took my first timid step towards re-connecting with the world by applying for work at the one place I figured would hire absolutely anyone - McDonald's. [The Denny's part is coming, I promise.] The manager - an Idi Amin-lookalike whose Caribbean accent was so thick that no one ever understood what he was saying - sat me at a table and spoke to me for five minutes. I think he was talking about how important it was to work hard but there was no way to be sure so I just nodded thoughtfully every 10 to 15 seconds. I was hired to work from 4:00 PM to midnight when they closed. Having distinguished myself by having an IQ higher than 100 and remaining there for more than three months, I was promoted to Swing Manager - thus assuming command of some of the crew geeks I had once toiled alongside. This brought me into a closer working relationship with the restaurant's second-in-command and only diligent worker - a McDonald's lifer in her mid 30s I'll call Nora (after the slatternly waitress played by Susan Sarandon in "White Palace"). Nora had done a lot of living in her time - marriage, divorce, bankruptcy, a period of study in the hallowed halls of Hamburger University, and a disciplinary transfer from a more prestigious unit to our relative backwater for having had sex with one of her young supervisees. She was cheerfully candid and unrepentant about the episode and seemed well on her way to repeating it. (Not with me though. I wasn't her type.) This led me to give her the affectionate nickname "Collect All Six".
One night after a particularly arduous shift, Nora invited any of the closers who were interested to join her for a midnight snack at the only restaurant still open in those parts - the Denny's in Holyoke. [Told you I was getting there.] I was still pathologically shy and knew I'd be uncomfortable but I forced myself to go - recognizing that I couldn't afford to squander one of my few opportunities to socialize with people. It was a long drive but finally there it was - a small bubble of light and activity in the dark somnolence of western Massachusetts. The five of us slid into one of the big U-shaped booths and talked shop until the waitress - who Nora had promised would be a character - came over to our table.
I haven't the faintest idea what her name was, so I'll just call her Sassy - since that what she was. She was in her late 20s, I'd guess, and fairly attractive. (Which is to say: by the standards of Denny's waitresses, she was Garbo.) She decided to rest her no-doubt-tired feet by hip-butting me to make room for her on the seat cushion and then helped herself to a drink from my water glass. "Hiya, Nora," she said. "Are these those losers who work for you?" I was aghast. I was appalled. I was enchanted...
When she felt like it, Sassy finally took our orders. When one member of our party dithered over how he wanted his eggs, Sassy gave him a withering look and said, "You're getting scrambled." He protested, "But I've decided: I want them sunny-side-up." She said, "OK. But you're getting scrambled." And by God, scrambled eggs were what she brought.
After distributing the plates, she sat down next to me again - nodding goodbye to a cop who was leaving. "So what's your story?" she asked me. "I don't have a story," I mumbled, feeling excruciatingly self-conscious at being in such close proximity to an actual woman. She snorted, "Has Nora made a grab for your Egg McMuffins yet?" Nora, looking embarrassed for the first time since I'd known her, asked her to lighten up on me. Sassy - too proud to brook correction - drilled her eyes into me as I focussed all my attention on the torn and emptied sugar packets near the base of my iced tea glass. "It's because you sit all hunched over and don't look people in the eyes," she diagnosed. "Thanks for the advice," I grumbled, smarting at the truth of it. I withdrew into myself for the rest of the evening, came home late to my unkempt little apartment, fed my pet-store cat, and went straight to bed.
It's eight years later now. Unimaginable as it would have seemed to me then, I'm married and living in Utah. I still sit hunched over and find it hard to look people in the eyes, but I work at it. (Still have the cat too.) Although I never saw her again after my last day at McDonald's, I suspect Nora is still working for them somewhere. But Sassy - I feel certain - has long since left Denny's and waitressing behind. And not just because any halway-sane manager would have fired her. But because a spirit that bold would eventually have to seek out a more adventurous calling than dishing out Grand Slams. I like to think she found parenthood - the boldest calling of all. And I bet her kids turn out really well."
- Eric Krupin
Berkley, Michigan
- February 19, 2002 - "Only you will understand. I am hailing from Royal Oak, Mi. My name is Bosco and I am the former and last (partialy self proclaimed) King of Punk Rock Denny's Berkley, Mi. "Club D" as we called it. I would like to inform you that as of mid January 2002 Denny's on 12 mile and Woodward in Berkley, Mi is no more. I was told the night before it closed by the manager. She said "Bosco, umm....can you keep a secret?" and she asked me like 500 times. I was worrying. All she said was "umm....if you want to take a mug home tomorrow.....come in before 3". WHAT??? They didn't even tell the staff! They were worried if the staff knew they were all going to be fired there would be a riot or people just wouldn't show up the last days. Would you blame them? They closed the store at 3pm on a Tuesday for a "staff meeting". Then they laid the news on them. I've been pretty much living at that Denny's since late 1997. Now I am an orphan of a corporation. The bastard son of capitolism. What am I to do now? Dare I go to IHOP?? For all that read and are from the area I speak of heed my words. Get as much Denny's in your system now while you still can. I fear Denny's is pulling out of Michigan. 14 mile and John R Denny's. CLOSED. 12 mile and Stevenson Denny's. CLOSED. My beloved Denny's. C L O S E D. God knows how many others are packing up and shipping out as I write this. 16 mile (Big Beaver) and Crooks Denny's is still open and 24 hour (despite popular belief). It's one of the last 24 hour Denny's in Oakland County. There is also one in Warren that is 24 hours. I pray for those of you that still have a Denny's close to you. That yours do not befall the curse of the other Denny's that surrounded my area. And remember "Because breakfast is the most important meal of the night"."
- Bosco
Grand Rapids, Michigan
- August 28, 2002 - "Where to begin. I am convinced my destiny may lie somewhere in a Denny's. My mom worked at Denny's and her mom and her sister and her sister's daughter and I have worked at the fantastic 28th street Denny's in Grand Rapids MI, count them, 6 times. I met my best friend there her mom works still there after 17 years. I met my last boyfriend at the counter of the Plainfield Denny's. Now he works there with my two best friends, and his new girlfriend. Yesterday I some how ended up at Denny's 5 different times. We, my best friend and I, also visit new Denny's when our road trips lead us to them, they usually do, though that could just be a statement as to how many Denny's they are. I am currently considering moving across the country in a back pack and the biggest thing that makes me feel unprepared relocation is possible is there will always be a job (and strong coffee) at Denny's. One more note about my best friend, she works 30 hours a week at denny's and still manges to spend at least an hour a day louging in the wonderful back corner of the Plainfeild store she works in. Is it normal that my entire circle of friends migrate to Denny's to find each other?"
- Misti
- April 18, 2003 - "I'm glad my dad took me to this somewhat small-ish Denny's. I was riding in the 18-wheeler with my dad. We had breakfast here before going down US-131 to God knows where (Kalamazoo), and it was great. The taste of the food was slightly altered by all of the people smoking (mostly my dad), but everything else was fine. I can't comment on whether or not there was a Weird Al Yankovic look-alike here, as I have no idea what he looks like. The next time I go here for breakfast, I think I'll have to opt for an omelette, seeing as ever since I went to the Post House Cafeteria in Breezewood, Pennsylvania (the nastiest restaurant I've ever been to) in April 2002, I have been unable to eat any other form of eggs."
- Cactus Bob
Southfield, Michigan
- August 16, 2002 - "i have just returned from a meal with my two children..the manager jeff murray..IS IMPERTITENT..CONFRONTATIONAL AND RUDE..HE SHOULD WIN THE AWARD FOR THE WORLDS WORST WORST WORST PR. PERSON...I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW DISGUSTING HE WAS... i have NEVER experienced such an abnoxious man in my entire life. I WILL NEVER STEP FOOT IN THEIR AGAIN AND FURTHERMORE WILL INFORM EVERYONE I KNOW TO AVOID YOUR RESTURANT. THE SERVICE WAS DISCUSTING ALSO. GET RID OF HIM FAST IF YOU WANT ANYONE IN THERE. HE IS A DEBIT TO YOUR REPUTATION AND TO ANYIONE WHO COMES IN CONTACT WITH HIM. "
- Hdrheartland
Roseville, Minnesota
- July 6, 2004 - "I don tknow if you have anything to do with all Dennys but we went to the one in roseville, mn last week . It took us over 2 hours to get our food,, then the food wasnt right ,,some stuff we ordered we didnt get,,,then was charge for stuff we didnt order. I was very unhappy,,there was 1 server and he was trying so hard to keep up with everyone but couldnt,,people were walking out. We could of walked out on the bill cause no one was there to take our money,, but we were honest and waited for about 20 mins for someone to come and check us out. Need less to say I dont know if I will be back to this dennys or not."
- Topac4fver
Saint Louis, Missouri
- September 10, 2002 - "I have been to about every Denny's in the Saint Louis area, and I have got to say that the one on 270 and Dorsett is the best. The host was excellent during a very busy part of the night...after 1 a.m., when the bars locally let out. we were seated in a very timely manner. The server , Charles, was very fast and responsive, even though he had at least 6 full tables of guests,we got food and drinks in exactly 14 minutes. The manager on duty, a young blond woman, was everywhere,running the entire show . I was very impressed with this Denny's. It puts the rest to shame."
- Stlreni
- November 28, 2002 - "I Live in St. Louis Mo and the best denny's i know if is at I-55 an S. Lindbergh they have the best service and friendly waitresses sometimes they can get a lil mean but other then that i personally they are better then the other dennys and ive eaten at a few others and none of them are as good as Denny's at S. Lindbergh!!!!!!!!!!!"
- Lisa
- May 31, 2003 - "Denny's St. Louis-Dorsett Road and Highway 270 - This is one of the better Denny's restaraunts in St. Louis , if not the best. Very clean unlike 5th street or Watson Denny's. The waitstaff and management there are very attentive and quick. Great blonde haired woman on nights that runs a tight ship in a very fast paced environment. Nights at Dorstt Denny's could be the best place to people watch in St. Louis. It's hilarious."
- Stlreni
Reno, Nevada
- June 9, 2003 - "We visited the Denny's in Reno NV (the one off of well's ave. and I-80 and I swear this was the BEST denny's we've ever been too!! We had a waitress named "Debbie" for our early dinner and she was very nice and quick! we had ordered a "lemonade cup" that minute maid was offering and she had refilled it right before we left. the food was HOT and better tasting than I had tasted before. (and yes, we've been to a lot of denny's) The next day we went again since it was the closest place to out hotel and the place was PACKED!! it was about 11am so we ordered lunch, Jose (our other server) was just a young kid, but totally on it. Fast food, hot and again, taste....excellent!! Their new BBQ beef sand. was excellent! we couldn't believe we were eating at denny's. the place was clean, awesome staff and quick and on the move. I would have to rate this one by far the best we have been too!!! EXCELLENT!! Keep up the good work!!"
- BobbyNMollyMcGee
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
- July 9, 2004 - "I worked at the Cherry Hill Denny's before I walked off the job. ( they sat me 60 people in ten minutes, and then instead of helping me, they sat at the counter and laughed, so I stuck them with the people by leaving and never coming back.) Yeah, that reviewer is absolutely right, celebrities got ignored there, we knew who they were, we didn't care. We saw plenty there, we got jaded. By the way, they don't tip (celebrities), cheap bastards."
- Joey Pickles
Marlton, New Jersey
- July 9, 2004 - "I hung out in the Marlton Denny's, good crowd, good coffee, good conversation. Occasionally my buds and I would need to bust a head or two, the management knew what we were doing, they didn't raise a fuss as long as our 'exercise' took place in the parking lot. There's a lot of stories involved with the MarltonDenny's not the least of which is the world's oldest busboy'Lenny.' He's doing time now for his part in the Rabbi Nuelander murder case. He mentions Marlton Denny's in his confession; http://www.southjerseynews.com/neulander/jenoff.html . And he's not the only convicted Murderer connected to Marlton Denny's.Should I tell you more or didI scare you off? There's also stories of drug trafficking, gay and straight sex (In the Denny's itself.) Insanity, religious conversion,death, cowardice, and a wacky chess tournament that never happened. There was also a world famous Metal band called 'Eye-Tooth' that never existed that got it's 'start' in Marlton Denny's. That will take some explaining, we invented the band to get rid of a 'know-it-all." He's probably still trying to find their first album "Metal Morphosis" or "MM" to those in the 'know.'"
- Joey Pickles
Stratford, New Jersey
- July 10, 2002 - "As a veteran Denny's waitress,(Oh, the glamour!),I must say you have missed the now extinct best Denny's ever. Stratford, NJ franchise owned branch, where the Echelon Mallrats made their home.It will be sorely missed. But when are you gonna get to the other living Denny's in South jersey?Turnersville and Blackwood are still alive and giving coronaries with the chicken strips from hell. Heehehehe.Yes I may be insane but I WAS a Denny's waitress after all."
- Jaimee
Albuquerque, New Mexico
- January 23, 2005 - "Interesting site you have here. I go to the “Denny's on Central” in Albuquerque. Surly the most interesting here in ABQ. I've only been a regular at Denny's (on Central) for about 6 months. But they are already trying to get me to work there. Since I'm still in High School, I tend to only go there on non-school nights. Let me rephrase that. I tend to go EVERY non-school night. Many times I am there 10 or 11 hours, over the graveyard shift. I drink coffee (free!) and read and sometimes do work, but I mostly chit chat with the workers. And I always leave really good tips (if I have the money), and many times they try to refuse to accept it. They joke around with me always going there saying stuff like “You come here more than I'm here!”. These are people that still go there on nights off. Or they'll just stare at me for a minute or so then say “Go Home!” But it all turns out well and good. All (if not all, almost all) the workers were regulars before they started working. They say it's almost inevitable for me to work there because at this one, almost every regular (the good ones at least) are doomed to work there sooner or later. Just last night they bribed me with some money to sweep the floor after a vicious bar rush. I never understood why I always go to Denny's since I live 20 minutes away driving on the freeway on the other side of town and there are at least two Denny's on the way or closer… What is this compelling Denny's magnetic force?"
- Alyx
Canandaigua, New York
- March 2, 2004 - "I've been going to the Canandaigua Denny's since I started the FLCC theatre department, going there when we finished shows- or wanted to skip out on class.. I'm still going there now with my guys, and I'll have to say that the staff here is either the most patient or at least able to bite their tongues very hard. The waiters have come to put up with my friends' endless antics, such as "battlebots" with the forks, creating artwork of the leftovers, and the strange requests of Dave and Ranny for their vegetarian diets (though they usually get ignored). I do have a few questions for them... Why is it that Dave's english muffin took 20 minutes longer than 3 grand slams? And why do you all have the "I hate my job" expression? I don't remember the manager's name, but she used to head the Geneva one as well. I'm still not sure if she likes us or wants to kill us. She has the same expression for when she's happy as when she's angry. I think she uses her ponytail as an automatic plastic surgery... that smile ain't gonna stop til the hair gets let free. Must how she deals with people like my guys... And this Denny's is where one of my friends ended up getting most of his silverware."
- Sorah
Niagara Falls, New York
- April 20, 2002 - "My name is Arthur and i work at a Denny's in Niagara Falls, New York. I think that what you are doing is really kinda cool. I hope that you can come to our denny's one day because I would have to read you're review, and im also interested in seeing what they would give you for free. Well anyway hopefully will see you somtime, and if your ever in Niagara Falls Check us out. Our store is one of four thats in Niagara Falls, we are on Williams Rd. by The Summit Mall."
- Arthur
Dayton, Ohio
- September 1, 2002 - "Nice site. Howzabout a return trip to store 0611 in Dayton Ohio. The one out by the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. One of our managers, Zeke, looks like a bit like Saint Al of Yankovic except for the fact that he's African American. I could probably get our GM to hook you up with some swag like a "Juice, Java, Coke, and Cool" T-Shirt. Thanks for the free promotion for the entire chain from all of us here at store 0611 here in Dayton Ohio."
- George Mager
Findlay, Ohio
- December 27, 2004 - "Christmas Day. A day after the big storm put Ohio in a deep-freeze. We were travelling south on I-75, down from Detroit to Columbus. There were'nt too many places open, being Christmas Day and all. It was about 12:45 when we decided to see if Denny's was open on this exit cause we saw that Waffle House actually stuck a little sign in a snow bank up on the highway.
We pulled in and the parking lot was sort of filled...when we got inside, there was a waiting line for tables! Should have been no surprise, being Christmas day and not so many places open and all. There were travelling groups, older folks, different odd couples, some truckers and locals all enjoying the festive atmosphere and talkin about the storm and how bad the roads were. We let Judy know we would be OK at the counter and went on over.
When I first walked in, the first thing I noticed was a very good looking blond woman sitting in a booth by the window, two down north from the entrance, was lookin at me. The moment I realized she was looking at me I got what you would call that special sparkly feeling that you hardly get. In fact, after 50 you can almost guarantee you're not ever gonna get that feeling...but.., I did. It wasn't that it was flirtatious or rude or anything it was just...that sparkly feeling! We ended up sitting right near her and I could only sort of get a glimpse of her and saw she was really different, very nice with a little style and grace that went with her elegant good looks. She seemed like she smiled at me as carefully as possible cause she was with a man...and I was with my wife. We weren't doing anything bad now...just mutual admiration sort-of, maybe just wishful thinkin...but there was that sparkly thing...and that was for real!
Denny's was so backed up with orders and everyone was waitin on fries, shakes, soups, toast..we were sure glad when our order finally came up. The waitresses were moving constantly so they kinda forgot where they were sometimes but everything came out pretty good. We're vegetarians so we had them make special stuff for us. It was darn good!
Finally, the lady in black (she went to the restroom and I could see she was very attractive!) and her husband? were finished eating and the man started smoking and she waved the smoke away...he seemed like he was a patient and then I noticed he had two different shoes on. She was very attentive to him. more like a caretaker type of attention and I could only wonder, perhaps he had a stroke or other mild brain injury cause he looked a little mean. Not to say thats why I thought he was injured, its just that it was my impression from where I was. She left him at the booth and went to pay the check at the register and it seemed that she had a lot in her purse, like a businesswoman, maybe real estate agent..maybe.
She ended up using cash after looking thru her cards, came back to the booth and announced "she was going to get the car", which added to my impression that he needed to stay put while she brought the car around. He just stayed put and chained smoked. When she came back in to get him, she brought several wrapped gifts...and gave them to Judy and said "thanks for takin care of us, when we come here all the time" , which seemed incredibly nice and I could'nt help notice that Judy seemed maybe a little surprised, just a guess. I then had to slyly watch as she drove him away in a grey ford or lincoln.
Anyways the whole time I'm thinkin (not really) just sparklin instead of thinkin. I mean it is even for my own good that I am writing this down but I dont want to cheapen that feelin cause its so rare at any age when its for real. We love our family. We love our friends. But that sparkly feelin is about one thing. So here I am thinkin about Denny's and its two days later and I'm wonderin, just maybe wonderin...if I could find a way to find a way to ...find..a...way....."
- Rick Borgia
Fremont, Ohio
- October 15, 2003 - "I will admit, when Denny's came to town, I had my doubts about it. I could not have been more wrong. We have always had great service and good food, no matter what time we have been in there. The place is always clean, and they always have toys for the kids to play with. I love the kid friendly meals and I personally love the french toast slam. That is so good! Keep up the good work Denny's in Fremont!!"
- Laura Brown
Garfield Heights, Ohio
- March 25, 2002 - "Hey whats up? My name is carrie. I'm a server at the denny's in Garfield hts. Ohio. Currently Im training for management, I came across your web site, I think its pretty cool what your doing. Our denny has come a long way this past year, you should come check us out, add another notch to your list. We've got excellent food, the service is wonderful ( esp. if im your waitress). Next time your in Ohio dont hesitate to stop on in. It would be a pleasure to meet you. Carrie W. Denny's"
- Carrie
Mayfield Heights, Ohio
- June 22, 2003 - "Well Hey and Hello, I worked at Denny's in Mayfield Heights, Ohio back in 1996-98, now that I live somewhere else, I am starting my first day at one in Canton, Ohio tomorrow!!!! They treated me great as a worker ( I worked midnite shift, also ) I'm gonna miss that shift here, though. Had alot of fun with the drunks!!! Dated a cop that pulled security on weekend nites!!! He was like 12 years younger than me, it was really cool!!! Wow! I had a real drunk broad cuss me out one nite cause I didn't get her drink order quick enough for her...after saying a few "ahem" nice words to her, turned around and continued with the table I was at, and when I looked back she was passed out under the table! It was hilarious!!! Even her friends ignored her. Well, I checked for a pulse and my friend the cop called an ambulance, she got nasty with them to, kicked the paramedic right where it hurts the worse......lalala. Anyway!! Stop by Canton, Ohio on Tusc street and I will foot the bill for you.....hope to see you soon...."
- Amanda
Medina, Ohio
- September 3, 2002 - "We went to the Denny's Classic Diner in Medina, Ohio and had the worst service. It was not only slooooow-our order was also screwed up. We were there for the car show and even the neon was partly out. Seeing as how the diner is not more than a few years old, its a shame it is in such disrepair and has such lousy service."
- Larry and Linda Duca
Toledo, Ohio
- December 24, 2003 - "I was a fry cook on the night shift at the Denny's on Secor road in 1974 for about six months. It was practically the only place in town that was open when the bars closed on the weekend and we'd have customers standing outside for half an hour to get inside. We'd sell a couple of thousand of dollars worth of eggs in 8 hours(in 1974 dollars). The cooks were mostly kids like myself, with their long hair tucked up under those silly tubular hats, with the token Korean, and straight medical student. It was a good paying job as they paid a couple bucks more than comparable places like Fritsch's and the waitresses could also make good tips on the weekend graveyard shift.
It was a very mixed night life crowd that was mostly toasted on booze and drugs. We'd get the partying college kids, the Syrian mafia truck drivers in their black leather jackets, the narks and drug dealers eyeing each other nervously, and the black Macs with their tired whores in their hot pants and heart shaped sun glasses trailing in finally at 4:30 am. The waitresses hated waiting on the pimps as they were uniformly rude and never tipped.
I believe it was one of the first restaurants in the country to use Microwaves that were at that time new technology. We discovered that if you cut the tip off of a boiled egg and nuked it then it swelled to something the size and consistency of a large lima bean. Edison would have been proud of us.
The one problem working there was the cheap toasters they gave us. Every order of eggs had to be served with toast and we'd have four pans of eggs cooking simultaneously during peak hours. After pushing out a hundred pieces of toast these things would just burn out. One Saturday night we were down to one toaster and the waitresses were hysterically demanding toast for their drunken customers. So my buddy P. said to me, "Go see where the manager is now"... When I reported back that the manager was in his office, he wrapped a towel around a metal knife and stuck it into the lone plugged in toaster. It proceeded to short out with a large puff of smoke and a minor mushroom cloud type explosion. P. remarked with some satisfaction, "I guess the last toaster is toast. So we just cook eggs tonight"...
I'm glad that you're making a serious study of the Denny's contribution to the American cultural and culinary scene. Such a commendable effort is long overdue in my opinion and your web site should be eligible for Federal grants."
- Don Gubbins
Westerville, Ohio
- June 24, 2003 - "The last time I ate in this Denny's was some time ago. Service was poor and the kindest words for the food were "so-so." I should know better than to stray from the breakfast items. The "Moon Over My-Hammy" had problems -- my wife got sick. But, it was 11 PM and Denny's was serving. Alas, the Westerville Denny's is no more. It was bulldozed in early 2003 and the site is becoming a new Bob Evans location."
- David Firth
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- May 9, 2003 - "This is an open letter to anyone that wants to know what happens with a late night order that is screwed up by those awesome people at Denny's. You come home with your bag of food - that's a start. Then disappointment. I'll not take time to discuss my troubles in detail as they are unimportant - it's granted by the store (May and 63rd in OKC, OK) that they goofed. Thing is - nobody can fix it. No adults on duty. Take your money to Whataburger or ANYWHERE but Denny's, if you expect to get what you pay for. My experience was like this: Get home with overpriced food. Realize it's not all there and the french fries with a burger are stone cold. (I'm 5 blocks away so fries are not fresh). Call for a fix - get an obnoxious and unapologetic "Cynthia" on the phone who makes no effort to fix the problem, refuses to give the Corporate HQ 800 number. That call has Cynthia actually question if the botched food order is really "that bad" (no not the cold food, the food that isn't there!). When assured that there is no interest in eating what they dispensed, her question is repeated ... and again, again. Watch out for Cythia's delicate consitution - she get's testy when you point out that you don't wish to pay for a faulty deal ...the fact is, it was her (it was, in this case) fault - makes no diff. Cynthia (or her counterpart, I assume), then get's upset and hangs up because emotions are so fragile ... don't be rude to the thieves that take your money and cry they can't do it any better or make it right. I suggest if you make the mistake of buying Denny's over-priced crap, that you bring a lawyer - it seems there are no adults on campus. When I asked to bring back their garbage for CC credit, I'm told I must devote part of my upcoming morning to that - they are a store full of zombies, there is nobody in charge. I had to call a franchise location to get the 800 number for HQ. DO NOT SPEND A DIME AT DENNY'S Thanks for your attention."
- J.O
Allentown, Pennsylvania
- September 6, 2004 - "Everything a Denny's should be. (But too much cigarette smoke). Pancakes needed a knife to be cut. A little too thick. Great sausages. Excellent service! This was the first time I wore my Project Denny's t-shirt to a Denny's. The staff was impressed."
- Eric Robinson
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
- February 20, 2003 - "As a 9 year employee of Denny's I can honestly say at times I have been imbarest to say I work at Denny's. But at this moment I can say iI am proud to work at my store! This summer we had a complete remodel including the restrooms, new management staff and pruning of the dead wood. As I till my family come to Denny's in Bloomsburg and you will get the best dennys has to offer."
- realist
- March 21, 2003 - " We just got a remodel ($500,000 worth of one) and it wasn't just one of those cheesy retro fits. My Denny's #2102 is located off interstate 80 in Bloomsburg PA. if you let me know when you will be coming, i will try to get you cool free stuff (perhaps a Denny's Shirt, and a 4 star Name Tag??????) but any who, i think our Denny's is one of the best in PA, we kick every ones asses in our region, and area, (and yes we do put parsley on our plates as well)"
- Philip Bennet
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
- January 10, 2005 - "ok now we all preety much know how if you go to a denny's enough they either get really tired of u coming in at 1 or 2 in the morning or they get so used to you being there its kind of a relief to see a friendly face at 1 or 2 in the morning (in most cases its the friendly face one) and you could almost hear the cheers theme playing in the back of your head cause you know (you want to go where everybody knows ur name dum dum dum) yeah .... moving on but we have our fair share of interesting stories to tell of good old denny's such as recently there was a "fight" in the parking lot and it was all staged and then we had 6 cop cars roll up into the parking lot or the time when the manager from burger king came in and was either so drunk or tiered that he fell asleep spilled his coffee on the table where he was laying , laid in the scolding hot coffee and when they brought his food out couldn't do a dman thing to get him up even waving the smell of his moon over my hammy at him didn't revive this man from his slumber the list goes on and on but there was a sad part to our treks to denny's after while we were staying there from about 10 pm till about 4 or 5 am and they kinda got tired of us being there so long so they made us have time limits on how long we could stay according to what we ordered 35 mins if just a drink and 47 mins if u got food why 47 mins is still confusing us to this day but thankfully the problem has been resolved and we no longer have time limits plus as they see it if were in a booth that mean no one else could come in and order more food thus making them do more work so at times they love us to sit there for hours on end having cigarettes and coffee and the occasional meal whenever any of us have money especially after a long night of poker but eventually we all must return to our domiciles and sleep because the caffeine wore off and there's nothing to keep us up except bad b-movies and adult swim witch most of us fall asleep somewhere in the middle of then we wake up the next day go to school or go to work and start the cycle all over again and we always end up at denny's but like everyone knows the best night is either Friday or saturday because you get a whole smoking section full of drunks and its kinda cool to talk to em and find out what they do why there here ect.. (not like its hard to see why they're there its 1 or 2 am who else is open ?) and denny's got some prime property when they moved in there's a hotel right next door and there's a bar in the back called razzles and they get so much business just from that one bar along its amazing but its is getting late and i have actually just retuned from denny's and must get some sleep b4 school in the morning so until later denny's people keeps those coffee cups filled"
- Kenny Akehurst
Scranton, Pennsylvania
- August 8, 2002 - "I have been reading all the coments here and laughing. I was a late night cook for Denny's in Scranton for 7 years. It was the hardest, most frustrating job I ever had. I was like banging my head against a wall night after night. I was the only cook on more nights than I can remember. I really tried my best to get the food out hot and fast. The waitresses were in the same boat as I was and depended on their tips to survive. The shift managers were given impossible situations and told to make the best of things. a boss is only as good as the people working under them. When you should have a staff of 10 and you have 4 how can you make things run smoothly? They just couldn't get anybody to work there. Those of us who did show up had to do the best we could. The upper management didn't care how things went as long as the cash drawer was full. I made a game of inventing shortcuts and doing things more efficiently. This was the only way to get the orders out. I cut more corners than you can imagine. I also saw the craziest things working that shift. There was this guy who used to come in and sit at the counter dressed like General Custer. Another time, an out of town gang had a rumble with a local group of kids, right in the dining room. They pratically tore the place apart. I've seen so many fights in there I can't count them all. We would give the police free meals, just so they'd come in there. Management even tried to stop this. The kitchen wouldn't get cleaned for a week because there was nobody to do it. All this while the few cooks who did show up tried there damndest to keep things running. I remember one of the dishwashers finding a coke glass full of urine in the bathroom. He dumped it out and put the glass with the others to be washed! I always drank out of a milk shake tin ;) They had these trees out back. About a foot in diameter trunks. The one cook was on drugs and highly aggravated. He brought in a saw one night. When things slowed down a little he went out back. I went to check on him after a few minutes. He was cutting down one of the trees! He had it about halfway sawed and would 've cut it right down if I didn't stop him. Then he took a bread knife and jammed it in the tree. When the day manager noticed it he thought one of us sawed through the tree with the bread knife. He asked us and we said we didn't see anything. The day shift cooks would literally work over 100 hours a week. A couple times they worked THREE DAYS straight. I have seen the funniest most bizarre things happen at 3am in Denny's. It's like being on the dark side of the moon. Thank you god for letting me get out of Denny's."
- signet
Wyomissing, Pennsylvania
- March 22, 2004 - "hello i started working at dennys in wyomissing pa.it was the worst job i ever had . the mangers were great . but the general manger had it out for me from the start.she was rude nothing i did was right even when the mangers said i was doing a real good job it was never good enough for her.surei made i few mistakes who dont?i mean this woman left employees that would come in early sleep out were people eat now what kind of place does that?the cooks smoke dont wash there hands . they clean the floors pick up dirty kitchen mats and never wash ther hands . belive me i saw it all . i hope you all read this. its all true."
- jennifer sheeler
York, Pennsylvania
- March 9, 2003 - "I was employeed at Denny's (Haines Rd. York) and take my word for it, management is terrible, they've had six or seven managers quit in about five months. Treatment is unfair, training is poor at best, and my first day I took a smoking break in the designated area which consistently reeks of an unusual and undefinable rotten smell. In front of me was the ice machine and a sign that read "Do not store boxes or trash in front of the ice machine." Directly on the floor was five boxes and four bags of trash. Yummy. On top of this, I've had waitresses attempt to take advantage of my status as a new server and was accused of being responsible for money missing from the register that I am quite confident was not my fault. At any rate, the service is ok at best...Actually, my family ate there, waited an hour for their order to be taken, and it was screwed up in the end and cold. The employees need to realize that they are not royalty because they've worked at Denny's for years upon years, and the management needs to let go of their power-tripped egos."
- Anonymous
Warwick, Rhode Island
- May 29, 2002 - "This is our beloved Denny's which The Rko Players of The Rocky horror Picture Show go to after the show every saturday. . . the food is good, the service could use work, but we love it, and hope they will welcome us some more. . . if you want a more specific review i would be glad to give it to you. . . ."
- xxx
Nashville, Tennessee
- June 18, 2004 - "A sign for the "Alway's Open" Denny's still stands at the intersection of Murfreesboro Pike and Plus Park Blvd. Where's the Denny's you say? Well, no where any more. It used to sit across the street from Draughons Junior College on Plus Park Blvd. I actually ate lunch there with a coworker in August of 2001 and distinctly remember the thick slimy film of grease and dirt on the back of the cloth booth pads, how bad the ceiling was water stained from various leaks, and the gross carpet. The place was, in one word, nasty. The restaurant was torn down in late 2001 and replaced with the office building shown here. You can tell the Denny's was there as the office lot even uses some of the old parking lot lights that are still painted in Denny's colors. No one know's how long the phantom sign will stay up as a beacon to the unknowing who have exited off of I-24 in search of food. Oh hell, there is a Waffle House just across the intersection."
- Eric Lewis
Arlington, Texas
- December 4, 2002 - "THIS IS TO ALL THE COMPLAINERS THAT VISIT THE DENNYS IN ARLINGTON OFF OF 360 , IF YOU DONT LIKE THE FOOD OR SERVICE WHY COMEE IN JACK IN THE BOX IS JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE ITS A DENNY S. NOT THE 5 STAR HILTON . IF YOU THINK ITS SO EASY COME ON IN AND TAKE MY PLACE FOR 1 DAY , TO THE GENTLEMAN WHO WAS ON THE DIET I DONT KNOW WHAT MGR YOU DELT WITH BUT IT WASNT ANY OF US THERE NOW WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO FIX IT THE WAY YOU WANT IT SO COME GIVE US A TRY"
- THE WAITRESS AT 640 IN ARLINGTON
- February 22, 2003 - "Back in '94-'96 my mom and I were regulars at the Denny's on South Cooper Street in Arlington, Texas about 4:30 PM on weekdays. Our waitresses were usually Elly (a senior in high school in '96) and Treva (she was promoted to assistant manager). There was this nice man who was the manager and lived in Southwest Fort Worth. I still have great memories of that place. My mom, a teacher, would grade papers and we would talk about our day. It was fun chatting with the waitresses. I went to private school in Fort Worth back then (8th-9th-10th grades) so my mom was always picking me up from school back then. Unfortunately about spring '97 we quit going there when I began to drive myself to and from school. I went back a few times in '97, but after the beginning of '98 I quit going there altogether. I went off to college in the fall of '99 and did not visit Denny's again until August 2002 on my summer break. Everything was just as I remembered. Same green booths and pink tables. The staff had changed but it was still the same. Everyone was friendly even though it was 4:30 in the morning. I went there alone and got treated like royalty. The charming, pleasant young waitress refilled the coffee like mad. I really wish I still lived full time in Arlington so I could go back to Denny's. We never had one bad experience there. Please go there sometime if you can."
- Matt B. Roberts
Corpus Christi, Texas
- August 26, 2003 - "I am an Emergency Medical Technician in Corpus Christi, Tx. Upon coming on shift we were all hungry and went down to the near by Denny's On Hwy 37. We were seated in a corner booth in the back where we were able to see everything. We noticed a "gentleman," sitting at the table in front of us. He was a large man who apparantly had Narcolepsy. He kept falling asleep on the table. It was as uncontrollable has his drool and snot coming out of his mouth and nose. He continued to keep falling asleep and spreading more snot onto the table. As EMS professionals we enquired with the waitress to see if the gentleman needed any assistance. She declined and said that he comes in all the time and does this and that he was waiting for a friend to pick him up. Well, his friend came and picked him up and as they were leaving you could see plenty of disgusting snot dripping out of his nose and all over his clothes and face. It wasn't the normal snot...it was thick and very slimey! We continued to watch and noticed a kitchen helper coming to clean the table. We were relieved to see someone coming to clean the table up so quickly. To our dismay the kitchen helper came only with a paper towel and a stove scrubber in his hands. He used the stove scrubber to literally scrape snot and drool unto the single paper towel. He left to go back to the kitchen and we had assumed that he would be back with disinfectent of some kind...but this did not happen..... They seated the next customers at this table. Our eggs came and though we see this kind of gore everyday in car accidents and such..we could not stand to eat. We left and I stopped to advise the management that we would in fact be in touch with the local health department. He had absolutely nothing to say. I hope those people enjoyed their meal at the snot infested table. We are sure that we seen them two days later during a 911 call for high fever and congestion. HHhhmmm..well, at least Denny's is keeping us busy giving medical aid to their previous customers. Total Job Security!"
- Sierra
Houston, Texas
- February 21, 2002 - "I like your website. Whatever you do.. DONT vist the Dennys in Houston Texas. The one by the international Airport. Tehy dont know their ass from a hole in the ground. I had been their many of times threw the years but it has just come down to they must only hire people if they are their for a goodtime to chat with each other and make everyone around them mad. Just thought you should know just to avoid an unpleasent event."
- Amanda
Huntsville, Texas
- July 19, 2004 - "We like Denny's alot, the one in Baton Rouge closed. We ate breakfast there as a family after church on Sunday. Recently my son attended the Offense-Defense football camp in Huntsville. To our delight when we arrived, we saw a Denny's ! Long story short we ate breakfast every morning, some lunches and a dinner there. The crew was awesome, they greet upon entering, we sat at the bar and was waited on instantly, breakfast served in less than 15 minutes made to order and after the first day upon entering Cara our waitress, would grab me the coffee and my son his drink. They were friendly and Humorous! My son is a big 13 yr. old and likes a big breakfast, before his football workout. By the end of the week we hated to go, Huntsville, Texas is a great place to visit. My son recieved a medal for the Best Offensive and Defensive Lineman award for the Junior Division ! We contribute having a great start daily with Denny's in Huntsville and all the staff, which got us up and running with a Great Breakfast and Hospitality!!! If you are in the area do yourself a favor and visit, Tell them R.J. & Robin Martinez from Baton Rouge, La. sent ya!!!!!!!!"
- R.J. & Robin Martinez
Richland Hills, Texas
- August 11, 2002 - "I just tried to eat a sirlion steak at the Denny's located on Glenviw Drive in Richland Hills, Texas. It was so tough that I could only finish half of it., This restruant used to have good quality food but apparently they are only interested in the buck now. "
- Dean Johnson
San Antonio, Texas
- October 23, 2002 - "If you want to go to the greatest dennys on the planet, come to mine. #1516 (company owned-it makes a difference!) in san antonio, tx (IH 37 at E. Commerce) has the best staff of any restaraunt ive ever managed (yup im a manager for Dennys: that means REALLY cool free stuff) Besides being one of the busiest in the country (out of all 800 company and 1000 franchises, we're like #3 or 4 i think) we are the most dedicated!!!"
- Stephen Doumit II
Sugar Land, Texas
- May 19, 2002 - "Hi, I recently went to a Denny's in Sugar Land Texas (1422 State hwy 6 south 77478) and was not pleased with there cleanliness by the employees. A young lady that was serving us had curly hair that was very puffy and worn in her face. This to me was unsanitary because she did not have her hair tied back and was preparing food while her hair hung over the food. I will never eat at this Denny's again! VERY DISCUSSING!!!"
- Joseph Turkoski
Texas City, Texas
- June 16, 2002 - "Hi I am a customer from Denny's in Texas City, TX. I have never seen Denny's go down hill in 2 month's. This pass month I don't feel like eating in that restaurant with service like that. The Manager her name is Mary Rose the way she treats her employee's is a ashame. I sat there and watch her cuss at them and telling them mean things. As a regular customer if the head people of Denny's in Texas City don't do anything about her, your place is not going to have any business with people like that. She is ruining the repetition of Denny's useto have and how it useto be nice to eat in there, and to enjoy a meal with smiles. Everytime I go in there, I see employees I useto love and see not there anymore. I know for a fact she is running this people of and if Denny's doesn't something about there place there will be no more customers going in there because the way they are being treated."
- Sweethippie420
Cedar City, Utah
- September 6, 2002 - "I love the Denny's in Cedar City. I've been going there for years (well, since it's opened) Its a kewl place to go. I recently came out gay to all my friends there and am frequently seen there around the houres of 1 and 2 am with him there. lol."
- Angelus
Layton, Utah
- January 23, 2004 - "My first apartment was about a block away from this location so I have many stories. I'll give this one though: A girl I dated for quite some time got herself a job here after we broke up. We had been semi-friends afterwards until one night at this Denny's. See, her new boyfriend felt it was not ok for me to still eat at the place so one day while a few friends and I are eating, he comes up to our table with his buddies and does a little trash talking. So I tell him we'll settle it in the parking lot, blah blah... You know how that goes, right? Well this wasn't a quick enough solution for him -- I had got up to go to the bathroom and him and a friend followed me into it. So I end up getting in a fight with this character in the Denny's bathroom. Well I managed to give him the ol' head to the sink maneuver which enticed his buddy to drank him away from me. Well he then (he also worked there!) went to the manager and attempted to have me banned from the location. Long story short, I explained the situation to the manager, who also had a basic understanding of the whole situation since my ex and her new boyfriend were both employees of his, and he fired Mr. tuff guy and I got a free meal! Long live Denny's!"
- Bryan Ashby
Logan, Utah
- November 9, 2003 - "This is by far the worst Denny's ever (that I've been to). As Jill said in her rant about Utah Denny's, this is the one and only Denny's that I've ever been to that is not 24-hours. It closes promptly at 10:00 p.m. every night. Service is terrible. Once my food was delivered I was forgotten. You'd think that a Denny's in a college town (Logan is home to Utah State Univ.) would have a kinder attitude to students, but they didn't allow studying or loitering of any kind. If you find yourself in Logan, keep on driving."
- Cody Sharp
Ogden, Utah
- January 23, 2004 - "Ogden has a VERY high murder-per-capita rate. Though I'm not sure of it's current state as far as that matter goes, I do know that it has been the highest in the nation per-captia many many years. Needless to say this means lots of violence. The 12th st. Denny's is definitely no exception. One night while hanging out at around 1:00am, a group of semi drunk folk came in - one of them dressed like Santa. This was in October; not Halloween quite yet, but October. Well a group of people decided that this would just not do so they proceeded to start a fight with Mr. Santa Clause. Employees got involved and quickly had the excitement moved outside. My friends and I followed for the action. What happened was that the opposing group ended up chasing the drunken Santa crew down the street (Washington boulevard) a little ways until they got stuck at a light. One of them got out, punched out the window of Santa's truck and drunk him into the street and proceeded to beat him. About that time the cops were headed that way so my friends and I bailed so I can't really tell you much more. I do know it's the only time I've seen someone beat the hell out of poor ol' Santa though."
- Bryan Ashby
Roy, Utah
- January 23, 2004 - "Not a whole lot here - didn't hang out at this one much as it was infested with, well, hicks. A waiter was nice enough to set a full industrial sized coffee maker on our table once though since we had been there for hours upon hours ordering more coffee. I can honestly say that night was the most coffee I've ever drank at a time. I felt like a crackhead after it was all said and done."
- Bryan Ashby
Fredericksburg, Virginia
- December 31, 2002 - "What's up, I'm Gabriel, I am the bus boy that took the water fountain from Rte. 3 Denny's in Fredericksburg Virginia. That was the first time I worked there, I am now on my third time working there and it sucks. Since Liz wrote last we've gotten another GM who we think is a lesbian. But anyway, I was taking trash out and there it was next to the dumpster (the fountain), So I got it. I am a dishwasher now and We don't have enough help. All I've got is this old woman named Jackie who eats out of the bus pans and the old food in the pans that need to be washed. I even saw her eat some pancake batter out of a bucket that had been through the dish machine and wasn't clean. My fiancee Crystal who also works there as a waitress (no she doesn't want your number) almost spews flakes (barfs, pukes, throws up) when I tell her. But me and Liz put really really hot candy in one of the bus pans and she was drinking water for the rest of the night (Because she ate it d'uh).
One time (at Denny's camp) the manager Shirley, who had a condition with her wrists and ankles where she looks like a raptor with claw hands, she fell asleep at the salad bar with her claw hand in the ranch. She also fell asleep in the smoking section with a big booger hanging out of her nose and it looked like a yo-yo when she breathed. and last but not least, she fell asleep in a chair propping the office door open and some of my friends were blowing pepper on her to try to wake her up.
Well, you should come see us and have some fun. Good-bye and watch out for the fake vampires in Fredericksburg. Hi Liz"
- Gabriel Barker
Hampton, Virginia
- January 22, 2003 - "I used to like Denny's but, I have stopped going to Denny's in my area. The restaurant in Hampton VA is in need of some through cleaning and remodeling from the dirty ceiling tiles (no longer white) to the old smelling and dirty carpet. Some of the seats are torn and the counter side walls are dirty. I walked in the restaurant three days ago with my wife and because of the carpet smell, we turned around and said that was the last straw. My previous experience, was about 6 months prior, when we stopped for breakfast before beginning on our 800 mile trip. After an hour, of only being served coffee, we got up, paid for the coffee and walked out. Denny's will need some major changes by management to put emphasis on cleanliness and service if they expect to stay in business."
- Hal Carter
Kennewick, Washington
- January 10, 2004 - "To whoever this may concern. I recently visited a Dennys in my hometown of Kennewick, Washington and I must say it was great. The food was delicious and I was stuffed. I also didn't have to pay for the meal because I had a coupon that entitled me to two free dinners with drinks and dessert included. It was great. And I actually received it as a raffle prize but Dennys was willing to donate that for free. I really appreciate that. Well, I hope you keep on visiting those denny's ."
- Stuart Luttrell
Seattle, Washington
- January 20, 2003 - "Anyone who knows Seattle's U-District (home of the University of Washington) knows "The Ave." The Ave is a mythical place full of very specialized clothing shops, copy and print establishments, second hand book stores and every sort of Asian and Eastern Cuisine you can imagine. Located on the second block of the Ave was a beacon of Americana. The University Denny's. Where else could hungry Dorm Denizens get their hashbrowns covered *and* smothered...at four in the morning? The University Denny's, a shorter walk from any dorm than the University IHOP was the natural choice for late night pie, coffee, or anything else. Every time I was in there, I saw students with their laptops plugged into a handy outlet at their booth, sipping on coffee or cokes and happily munching on something greasy. I don't know the particulars of how or why (it couldn't be for lack of business) but my Denny's mysteriously shut down last quarter, the computer printed sign on the door simply saying "CLOSED." Now I have to walk the extra block to IHOP where the pancakes are better, but the atmosphere isn't."
- Sarah T Smith
- December 25, 2003 - "i worked as a cook at ballard denny's in seattle and today i turned in my corny uniform then told the management where to go, leaving them screwed for christmas and new years, ha ha. working at denny's blows dicks. as far as denny's food safety standards goes, well, there's little chance of getting food poisoning since their cleanliness standards are high, and food is often thrown out long before it goes bad. but if you care at all about the quality of what you put in your body, beware. their shit is trucked in from thousands of miles away and it's full of fillers, coagulants, preservatives and hydrogenated oils. a denny's burger is made from a cow that's been dead for up to 3 years before it hits your plate. they also use an excessive amount of cleaning chemicals on surfaces where food is prepared. so in their efforts to eliminate food poisoning they've ended up being a risk for cancer. that food is poison, people. i doubt that will phase too many denny's patrons. this isn't why i quit though. i believe anyone dumb enough to eat at denny's SHOULD eat there, frequently, natural selection will eliminate your kind eventually. i quit because there's some very sleazy business practices going on in denny's corporation concering payroll. almost every employee i talked to believed they were getting screwed. i documented my payroll discrepancies, threatened to sue, and after a month of explaining basic arithmetic to some log-stupid managers i finally got the money they owed me . it's unbelievable how moronic denny's managers are. our gm gave us a test featuring alot of rules and standards no one knew or practiced. ironically, her test questions were so full of grammar and spelling errors that the test was nearly indecipherable (i.e. she spelled the word cirlce "cercal.") she then took away our blue pens and gave us red pens to correct our tests, as if to show us how much more denny's knowledge she had than us. so along with all my wrong answers i corrected her trailer trash english, covering my test with red ink. that was fun. also, what's up with everyone singing the praises of denny's coffee? i think it it tastes like moldy dirt. but maybe i'm a snob since i live in coffee land. denny's is nothing more than a sit-down mcdonalds. the only excuse for eating there is being wasted at 3am, or attempting suicide-by-junk-food. fuck denny's."
- Anonymous
Clarksburg, West Virginia
- May 4, 2003 - "I am so glad I found this site !! We stopped at Denny's unit # 7759-Clarksburg, WV on 1/23/03 . We were seated pretty quick but that is where the good service stopped. Sat at table for 10 minutes before we received menues, then waited,10 mins. later waitress came back to take drink & dinner orders. We waited again. Noticed alot of employees standing around talking with friends & each other. Even the manager was standing around but he did go & clear off one table so another group could sit down.We were sitting near the counter area so had pretty good view of everything in place. My husbands order came up& was sitting in window (pass thru area from kitchen) .Sat for 15-20 mins. finally waitress brought drinks & then the by now "cold "food (not hot) . Alot of other customers were still waiting to order , guess we were lucky since they came in right behind us. We paid the bill & asked if there was a comment card we could fill out ,The man at register said no but he could pass on our info. (was said in a very nasty tone) . I told them that was ok I would go online. I made a phone call to the toll free number & told them about this place & was told it would be foreworderd to rest.'s owner, which they did & I would hear something back from owner . No such occurence !! Only from main company telling me they passed on my complaint . THIS IS A BRAND NEW DENNY'S & IT IS TERRIBLE . I have worked in several food places & to run properly - 1- keep eveything clean / 2-make sure customer is happy with everything-service & food !! Pay attention this is your job!! thanks for letting me vent ."
- Gimarie67
Australia
- June 7, 2002 - "G'day, No need to travel down under to eat at Denny's. They failed miserably here, a shame really but they persisted in using repulsive mercury vapour lighting which made the food look gangrenous. They came, they saw, they went broke!"
- Ian
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- November 2, 2003 - "Two friends and I stopped at the downtown Denny's after a few beers at our favourite club. First of all, I had very little cash on me, but figured, no problem, they take debit. When we got there, they told us their debit machine was down. I figured no problem, I have a credit card. After we were seated, our waitress told us that she couldn't use credit cards either. They refused to take a manual imprint of the card with their machine down. Our waitress added up what our order would cost and we managed to round up enough between the three of us. This was a pain in the ass, but whatever, we're easy going people, and were hungry, so just let it go. I ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich. I was almost done eating it, when I took a bite and noticed that the chicken was RAW in the middle. It was not raw throughout the whole chicken breast, only near the very end. I flagged down our waitress and showed her the nasty raw chicken in my sandwich. She told us she would take my meal off of our bill. When she came back with our revised bill, she explained that the manager on duty told her to take 30% off of my meal instead of giving it to us for free because of the raw chicken. The reasoning behind this was apparently because I ate almost the entire sandwich before noticing the raw chicken, so I should have to pay for most of the meal. I was absolutely disgusted. Excuse me for trusting that I was going to be served food that wasn't dangerous, and for happening to eat from the side that actually was cooked first. It is unconscionable that I was served raw chicken that could have made me seriously ill and the manager would not even comp my meal. The $3 off I received was not, in my opinion, appropriate compensation. In addition to this, the waitress was confrontational and very unapologetic about the entire incident. I also did not receive a personal apology from the manager. I am disgusted and will never patronize Denny's ever again."
- kasia gawlak
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- March 30, 2004 - "In speaking with one of your employees, I was asked not to call the 1-800 number; but was given this address instead. I apologetically send this to inform you about a sensitive matter within your South Vancouver(Cambie St.) location. While I may not be a "regular"coffee joe, my associates and I do enjoy visiting your establishment for an after supper get-together 3-4times a month. We did not agree on this at first,but after our last visit we both agreed something needs to be done (or told). During a number of our visits we would notice an East Indian woman sitting at the single bar seats,drinking and talking loudly. Most times she was definately drunk. It was to our shock one night when we were greeted by this woman. We did not realize that she was the manager. My associate claimed it was none of our business what people do on their time off. However, after our last visit,3rd week of March, we happened to agree. This woman came IN drunk, sat at the bar seat, and was served 2 beers while we were there. By the time we left, she was very loud and quite drunk. We continued our talk by our vehicles for a bit and about 10 min. later we noticed this woman come out stagger to her car, get in and drive off. As said, this is not the first time we have seen this woman drunk, but to have your staff serve her more. Then to watch her drive off in that condition was quite disturbing."
- Jasmine Ofkent
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
- December 17, 2002 - "It was nice to finally see a Denny's closer to home (about 100km away from me, in Brampton, Ontario). The service was mediocre, but much better than that recieved in Niagra Falls. I still prefer good 'ol Ottawa for the Denny's service. On a recent trip to Ottawa I learned that some wonderful franchisee in my area will be building a Denny's closer to me in the summer of 2003! yay! My dream has been realized! Now all I have to do is keep looking ("somewhere near highway 401 between Waterloo and Cambridge", according to my Denny's spy). mmm, I can almost taste the Slams at 3am."
- Emily Papel
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
- May 21, 2002 - "During one of my crusades to Niagara Falls, my self and my family made the "HUGE" mistake of having breakfast at Denny's by the Hilton Hotel. The prices are so astronomical that it robbed us of spending money for the day. The cheapest breakfast for two adults and two kids cost us $65.00. I contacted their head office and they tell me that that Denny's is owned by Hospitality Motels, LTD. They must make more money than Casino Niagara. What a bunch of thieves. I am also upset at Denny's for allowing a family restaurant chain that people trust to violate our trust in that institution. At least put a copy of the menu at the door so that people know the astronomical costs that they are charging. Once you go in with your family with kids, what kind of a parent is going to tell the kids, "sorry mommy and daddy cannot afford to eat here"...."
- xxx
- January 1, 2003 - "My family have had a similar experience to the one listed by Melissa & Mark. We went to the same Denny's for breakfast on January 1st 2003. We had three standard breakfasts (nothing fancy), two coffees and two chocolate milk. The bill came to $58.00 Canadian!!!!! The portions were smaller that what we are used to at similar Denny's in the States and about twice the price that we would have been charged at a Denny's located near to where we live. Of course, when we left the restuarant, we noticed that the restuarant across the street was offering an "all you can eat" breakfast buffet for $5.99 (go figure). We have sent a similar complaint to the Denny's website, I guess we'll wait and see what happens (if anything). I sorry that we hadn't seen your site before we went on our trip to Niagara Falls."
- Vince Alexander
- January 9, 2004 - "We will tell you a little about ourselves we own our own chalet's and cottages in the Wasaga Beach Ontario Canada area! so we are farmiliar with tourism as l also worked for the holiday inn for 17 year's" OK ENOUGH ABOUT US What has us extremely upset is that we were so disapointed in our family's favorite Resturaunt! We again went on a trip and got all un packed all happy" as we made sure our hotel was near our favorite desert and breakfast place via internet prior to booking our hotel!(NIAGRA FALL'S ONTARIO!!!!!) yes they said a 24 hour's Denny's on the property you see this was our first holiday since l recovered from a stroke so anyway we headed over imediately met by a waitress at the resturaunt she gave us a menu imediately and offerd us coffee why would we look at the menu for gosh sake's Denny's is our Restaurant and we proceeded to look at the menue l thought yep it;s a grand slam kind of breakfast day but then we took a closer look???? did it say $13.??? Canadian fund's for plain bacon&egg;s??and did it say 14.+++ for french toast?Well this was just last week Jan 5th to be exact! the snow was comming down and people around us many in amazment looking at the menu but, l must say the waitress was something she would get a drink order befor these young honey mooner's would even open up the menu??? how cruel anyway since again l have been in the buisness for so many year's and said "so what to my husband of 25 year;s let's do it? let's spend it cause we do have lot's for once in our lives and l wanted to see just how this little scheme worked!!!! Well needless to say we had our breakfast as we watched these kid's kids!!!!!! and we got our $3.60 per coffee&$373 fountain pop! so we gave our waitress our 50.00 for our breakfast (and tipped and treated her with respect!) even though when she brought us back our changed she tipped her self an additional $2.00 (heck she deserved it!) it must take alot of training to learn this as another table said gee l think you gave us back the wrong change anyway out side onthe way back to the sweet(Howard Johnson) Livingston Jan 5-9th we seen a couple! we were a little puzzled as a young honeymooning couple were in the parking lot and she was saying l was never so imbarassed? and we thought whatever poor kid's as we have our own 22 year old daughter old in University they began to explain to us that the prices were out of this world and they were to embarassed to leave and it cost them 50.00 for breakfast for bacon&egg's&coffee and juice for 2????we said we know guy's but hey it's your honey moon right don't let these people ruin it here is 50.00 have a great life! Tell me that you are not! aware of this practice and please please please let us know e-mail us! what is with your prices is this legal???? waiting for a reply????????????"
- K&A.Livingston
- April 15, 2004 - "I wished I had examined your site before I took my family there yesterday and got ripped off for $108.00 Canadian money (or about $75.00 American). Wholly crap!!! All standard breakfast food-not even any steak on the side and we got totally ripped!! DO NOT EVER GO THERE!!!"
- Ron Russo
- November 3, 2004 - "Said to be the most expensive and mpost profitable of all Denny's locations. OBSCENELY EXPENSIVE! You'll leave feeling lighter... in the wallet, and fiscally raped."
- Robert Kenney
Willemstad, Curacao
- November 9, 2003 - "I was on deployment here and practically lived off of this Denny's for two months. Service there comes and goes, but it got better once they new me. On a bad day, I wouldn't receive any refills and would often have to hunt down my server for a check. Sometimes I wondered if they even wanted me to pay. This is the first time I was ever served a tub of mayo with every order of fries. It's kind of a Euro thing to dip fries in mayo I think, but it's still nasty to me. The mayo is nasty anyway, may as well be a tub of lard. On a good day, though, this Denny's has some of the best service. The refills keep coming and the wait staff would often come up and talk with me as I sat around drawing and reading. The manager even liked me so much that he made me a cup of coffee using the ground beans rather than the pre-fab stuff they normally use for regular coffee. Two waiters here, though not confirmed homosexuals, constantly winked at me. I didn't complain though, because when one of them was my waiter I always had a full cup of coffee and excellent service."
- Cody Sharp
- January 16, 2004 - " This Denny's location is in the Protectorate of our Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in the South Caribbean. Coming from Holland is good there, as the Serving staff speaks the language of Papiamento and some also Dutch and English. It is open all the 24 hours of the day and night, and makes the food in the American style, but also some in the type of Creole, which is of the Islands, for some of their dishes. The bar is good and the big Serving woman of the eye which looks wrong, ( lazie eye, how do you say?) will bring the drinks which are very strong mixed. (The Cola only colours the rum a small bit). I was there some times, maybe perhaps 3 times. The one time of New Year night was when I was very drinking hard. The room was turning fast.. I had 2 Koffees and the American-type Carrot Cake, all was good, except a bit costly more than expected of the Denny's of the U.S.A. The moneys accepted there are both in the Netherlands antilles Guilders and in the American dollars, so the payment is easy. Many Colombian women that work at the hotel which is nearby go there after work. They are of the lovely type, mostly. Also the women of the Republic of Dominica ( also an Island of the Caribbean to the North) what are employed at the House of whores and club across the street go there too after their working is finished. Those ones are not so much of the lovely type , but will be more to go for the monkey sex. After I was vomiting the Koffee and the Carrot Cake. but this was not because of the quality, as it was quite good. The many drinks of the New Year Night were the causing of the problem."
- Gregiore P. Van der Pool
Tijuana, Mexico
- August 15, 2002 - "Several years ago i was on vacation in san diego. some locals i met talked me into going down to tijuana one night to go bar hopping. well, after a frightening, disturbing & unhappy evening we were walking back to the border crossing & i had to use a restroom desperately. i spotted the dennys sign & felt such a relief--a symbol i can recognize & feel good about. so, i went in to use the restroom (this was around 2:00 a.m.). there was a tijuana cop standing outside of the restroom doors. when he saw me coming, he put up his hands to stop me & said, "no, no--fifty dollars, fifty dollars". my reaction was something to the effect of "er, no, well, i, uh, just want to, uh, bathroom" he responded in an annoyed fashion, "NO, NO, FIFTY DOLLARS". so, i mumbled "no thanks" and went back outside to my waiting "friends". they started laughing as i relayed to them the experience i'd just had. they informed me that it was a common occurance for the local hookers to use the bathrooms at restaurants to engage in their profession. the cops often guarded the doors for a small fee. and that's my tijuana dennys experience."
- Viv Szabo
New Zealand
- March 5, 2002 - "Don't worry. The thought that I actually read a Denny's-associated page on the web is just as frightening to me, as is the thought of you meeting people through your page. Oh dear.... this is indeed a sad comment on the human condition.... Be that as it may, you will be delighted to hear that there is indeed a real Denny's restaurant in New Zealand, where I am. One, I believe (which, it could be argued, is one too many. Indeed, it would be argued, because I would). It is equally as awful as any other Denny's elsewhere, only more expensive. Maybe you're the wrong person to be telling. PS Blame Johnny Payphone for the link."
- HWC Sleipnir
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