Struggling with rising costs and falling sales, Denny’s is closing more of its locations across the United States this year, and the latest to shutter is the chain’s last restaurant in San Francisco, California.
The 24-hour Denny’s restaurant at 816 Mission Street in San Francisco, near Union Square, closed its doors on August 1 after nearly 25 years in business. On August 12, the chain’s sign was painted over, symbolically marking the end of a decades-long relationship between City By the Bay and the restaurant chain.
Franchise owner Chris Haque told the SFG Portal that the restaurant “operated until the last day we could.”
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Haque told the newspaper that dine-in and dine-out had become a major problem for the restaurant, cutting into its profits, along with concerns about crime in downtown San Francisco. “The cost of doing business is huge. There’s vandalism, people come and eat and leave, and there’s no one to stop them,” he said.
Denny’s in Emeryville, California. After closing 57 restaurants last year, Denny’s continued to close multiple locations across the country in 2024. Denny’s in Emeryville, California. After closing 57 restaurants last year, Denny’s continued to close multiple locations across the country in 2024. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
While downtown San Francisco has been in crisis since the pandemic, with shuttered stores and vacant offices in the city’s heart, Denny’s problems extend far beyond the Bay Area. Last year, Denny’s closed 57 of its stores across the country.
Newsweek contacted Denny’s for comment via email Tuesday morning.
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The fast-food chain closed 25 restaurants in the first quarter of the year (24 of which were franchised and licensed) and 15 restaurants in the second quarter, Forbes reported, and plans to close 15 more by the end of 2024. In an earnings call in February, the restaurant chains cited inflation challenges as the main reason for the closures.
According to Denny’s report for the first quarter of 2024, the chain’s total revenue was $110.0 million between January and March, down from $117.5 million a year earlier. During the same period, Denny’s opened 5 new units, all of which were franchised or licensed.
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Denny’s results for the second quarter of 2024 show that the company has seen a continued decline in revenue, reporting total sales of $115.9 million between April and June, compared to $116.9 million in the same period a year earlier. While it closed 15 locations in the second quarter, the chain opened just three, all of which were franchised or licensed.
Denny’s website currently lists a total of 1,333 locations nationwide, with the highest concentration of restaurants in California (359), followed by Florida (118). The company did not provide a detailed list of all the stores it has recently closed.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of 13 establishments that the chain closed during the last quarter of the year across the country:
Boise, Idaho
Chubbuck, Idaho
Nampa, Idaho
Oakland, California
Lubbock, Texas
New Braunfels, Texas
Ontario, Oregon
Worcester, Massachusetts
Middletown, Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Ashland, Ohio
Ontario, Ohio
San Francisco, California
Despite the current challenges, Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade expressed optimism about the future of the business, especially since the chain revived its $2, $4, $6 and $8 value menu and added a $10 option.
“This is a unique value platform at Denny’s that we launched years ago with amazing results, and it’s a unique asset that only we own,” Valade said on an earnings call earlier this month. “We’re excited to bring back this consumer-friendly traffic generation platform based on extensive testing and reengineering.”
