AFTER closing 57 stores last year, Denny’s has now closed another 15 restaurants and warned that more could follow.

Denny’s has closed several locations in several states.

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The company announced that 15 restaurants were closed in its last fiscal quarter and warned that up to 15 more restaurants could close by the end of the fiscal year.

The Ashland, Ohio, restaurant closed on July 20, with the nearby Ontario restaurant expected to follow soon, Ashland Source reported.

A Denny’s spokesperson told the outlet that closing a store is “never an easy decision.”

There were also several store closures in Pennsylvania, as the chain closed a location in Middletown Township and one in Bucks County.

A notice on the door of the Middletown location alerted customers to the closures.

The letter thanked guests for their loyalty and encouraged them to visit nearby Essington locations.

Locals were deeply saddened to hear of the closure, as the store was a popular hangout for teenagers in the 1990s.

“Some good old memories of this place,” one customer commented on a Facebook post about the closure.

The kitchen is closed

These closures came after Denny’s announced that it had closed 25 restaurants in the first quarter of this year alone.

Chief Financial Officer Robert Verostek said the company is still struggling to recoup financial losses from the pandemic.

According to Restaurant Business Magazine, traffic also fell 6% in the first three months of this year.

Sales decreased by 0.6% and margins per business unit decreased by 2.2% to 13.2% since July 2023.

Thomas Pilbeam, a franchisee who owned 27 Denny’s restaurants, said the pandemic had turned his business upside down.

In October, it was forced to file for bankruptcy under the US Chapter 11 procedure and had only eight locations left.

Restaurant closures in 2024

Bosses of large restaurant chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The US Sun has compiled a list of the affected chains.

• Cracker Barrel: Stores in Medford, Oregon, Columbia, South Carolina and Sacramento, California, have closed.
• Mod Pizza: In April, the bosses dramatically closed 27 stores, including some in the state of California.
• Frisch’s big boy: Restaurant managers confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky in April.
• Outback Steakhouse: The chain will close 41 underperforming locations this year.
• Two dollars: Four restaurants in Ohio closed in April.
• Chilies: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, was permanently closed, as was one in Irvine, California.
• Friendly matches: The bosses confirmed that a branch in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, will be closed.
• Pizza Hut: At the end of March, a restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed, followed by four restaurants in Ohio in June and 15 in Indiana.
• Denny’s: Two restaurants in Boise and Nampa, Idaho, have closed.
• Carl’s Jr.: The first location in Boise, Idaho, was closed.
• In-N-Out: An Oakland location was closed earlier this year due to crime in the area.
• Cheesecake Factory: The chain will close a store in Memphis, Tennessee, in July.
• Applebee’s: Has announced the closure of 25 to 35 locations this year.
• Taco John’s: Closed a restaurant in Minnesota and put the building up for sale in May.
• Rubio’s Coastal Grill: Announced the closure of 48 locations in California after filing for bankruptcy.
• BurgerKing: In June, a location in California was closed after 30 years.

NEW IN THE MENU

Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade told investors that the situation could soon change.

The chain will relaunch its low-cost $2-4-6-8 menu this summer, which it says could attract customers.

“This was a value platform unique to Denny’s that was launched years ago with amazing results, and it’s a unique structure that only we have,” she said on a conference call about quarterly results.

“We are excited to bring back this consumer-friendly, traffic-driving platform that is based on extensive testing and new developments,” she said.

Recently, diners were outraged when they saw that a menu item that previously cost $5.99 was now only $17.

Plus, learn how the popular seafood restaurant is closing a Florida location later this month.