Denny’s restaurant is an American staple in most cities and towns across America.
But the city of San Francisco has permanently closed it’s last – and only – Denny’s.
According to local media outlet SFGATE, the famed restaurant permanently stopped feeding guests in the Union Square area of San Francisco’s downtown at the beginning of August.
The outlet cited the franchised location’s operator, Chris Haque. He reportedly said the restaurant “operated until the last day that we could.”
The location had an almost 25-year run prior to its closure, according to the outlet.
The city’s only Denny’s was reportedly negatively impacted by dining and dashing and other factors.
“The cost of doing business is tremendous. There’s vandalism, and people come and eat and walk away, and there’s no one to stop them,” Haque said.
Having fewer conventions come to town in recent years had a negative impact, too, he told the outlet.
Denny’s confirmed to FOX Business that Haque’s location in San Francisco shuttered earlier this month and said it “does not comment on the closure specifics for our franchise locations.” A majority of the chain’s restaurants around the world are franchised.
“We echo Chris Haque’s sentiments that Denny’s loves San Francisco and the Bay area, and closing a restaurant location is never an easy decision. Denny’s offers its heartfelt thanks to the team members and the local community for their love of the Denny’s brand; it has been a pleasure serving you.”
According to the FOX Business report, the company also noted the Denny’s location in south San Francisco was still operating, as well as 40 others across the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose market.
Union Square, the area that the now-closed Denny’s called home, was hit hard during the pandemic, seeing many companies go remote and fewer people coming to the area. Other parts of the city also saw impacts.