{"id":26747,"date":"2013-10-14T00:10:07","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T07:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=26747"},"modified":"2013-10-13T00:54:29","modified_gmt":"2013-10-13T07:54:29","slug":"dennys-started-doughnut-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2013\/10\/dennys-started-doughnut-shop\/","title":{"rendered":"Denny’s Started Out as a Doughnut Shop"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"donuts\"<\/a>Today I found out<\/a> that Denny\u2019s started out as a doughnut shop.<\/p>\n

For those not familiar, Denny\u2019s is a restaurant popular throughout North America whose slogan is \u201cAmerica\u2019s Diner is always open.\u201d It also has some branches in various South American countries, and a few as far afield as Japan, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates, though it hasn\u2019t quite made it to Europe yet. True to their slogan, they’re always open, even at night and on holidays, except in some places where it\u2019s required by law that they close at certain times.<\/p>\n

Today, Denny\u2019s serves all kinds of food, like sandwiches, burgers, steak, spaghetti, and fish and chips. However, it\u2019s probably best known for its breakfast items. With all of the meals on its menu now, it\u2019s pretty hard to believe that Denny\u2019s started out as a simple doughnut shop.<\/p>\n

Founders Richard Jezak and Harold Butler probably didn\u2019t anticipate the massive expansion they’d soon see when they set up the first “Danny\u2019s Donuts” in 1953 in Lakewood, California.<\/p>\n

Butler said of his start-up in the beginning, \u201cWe\u2019re going to serve the best cup of coffee; make the best doughnuts; give the best service; keep everything spotless; offer the best value; and stay open 24 hours a day.\u201d Quite ambitious.<\/p>\n

Why doughnuts? It seems that Butler, at least, had experience with running a doughnut shop in Buffalo, New York. When he was a child, his father left the family and Butler did things like count buttons in order to help bring in some money. He also sold doughnuts, which eventually led to him owning his own doughnut shop. However, he realized that he didn\u2019t want to spend his life in Buffalo so he closed the shop and headed out to California.<\/p>\n

Just one year after being established, however, Danny\u2019s Donuts became more than just a doughnut shop. The menu expanded to include sandwiches and other entrees. Just a few years later, the restaurant itself expanded, too; by 1959, some twenty Danny’s Donuts had opened around California. That same year, the store was renamed Denny\u2019s because people were beginning to confuse it with another chain, “Coffee Dan\u2019s”.<\/p>\n

By 1981, Denny\u2019s had over one thousand restaurants across the United States. Today, Denny\u2019s is as popular as ever, boasting 1600 restaurants in 2010 with a vision to continue growing. Strangely enough, Denny\u2019s doesn\u2019t seem to have a soft spot for its humble beginnings\u2014doughnuts are no longer offered on the official menu.<\/p>\n

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