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San Francisco has lost its only Denny’s restaurant.
The restaurant permanently stopped serving guests in early August in Union Square in downtown San Francisco, SFGATE reported Monday.
The outlet cited the franchise’s operator, Chris Haque, as saying that the restaurant was “open until the last day we could.”
A Denny’s restaurant sign in Kissimmee, Florida, on January 25, 2019. (John Greim/LightRocket via / Getty Images)
According to SFGATE, the site was in operation for nearly 25 years before its closure.
DENNY’S SHUTTERS ONLY LOCATION IN OAKLAND CLOSED AFTER MORE THAN 54 YEARS DUE TO HIGH CRIME RATES
It was reportedly negatively affected by eating and hectic activities as well as other factors.
“The cost of doing business is enormous. There is vandalism, people come, eat and leave, and there is no one to stop them,” Haque is reported to have said.
The reduced number of conventions in the city in recent years has also had a negative impact, he told SFGATE.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of conventions in San Francisco plummeted. In recent years, the situation has improved: According to a report by the San Francisco Travel Association, the Moscone Center served as the venue for 33 events in 2022 and 34 last year.
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Denny’s confirmed to FOX Business that Haque’s in San Francisco closed earlier this month and said it was “not providing further details on the closures of our franchise locations.” The majority of the chain’s restaurants worldwide are franchises.
A Denny’s restaurant in Kennewick, Washington. (Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images Group via / Getty Images)
“We agree with Chris Haque that Denny’s loves San Francisco and the Bay Area and closing a restaurant is never an easy decision. Denny’s would like to thank team members and the local community from the bottom of our hearts for their love of the Denny’s brand; it has been a pleasure serving you.”
The company also noted that the Denny’s location in South San Francisco and 40 others in the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose area remain operational.
Union Square, the area that was home to the now-closed Denny’s, was hit hard during the pandemic. Many businesses moved their operations to remote offices and fewer people came to the area. Other parts of the city were also affected.
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The city’s mayor, London Breed, unveiled plans last year to revitalize the city center and its economy.
