When Does Denny's Stop Serving Breakfast?
Asking "when exactly does Denny's stop serving breakfast" is a bit of a trick question. The reason? The answer depends on where you live. Contrary to popular belief, not all Denny's restaurants offer 24-hour dining service, though most do. The restaurant actually started as a 24-hour donut shop called Danny's Donuts in 1953. These round-the-clock hours fulfilled co-founder Harold Butler's promise to "make the best donuts ... offer the best value, and stay open 24 hours a day," according to the official Denny's website.
The humble donut shop has come a long way since then, transitioning to the Denny's name in 1961 and now offering a lot more than just coffee and donuts. Today, "America's Diner" offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert options, including family packs. It also offers smoothies and milkshakes. The locations that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offer all of these menu options all day, every day — or are they?
Denny's entire menu is available all day
With the option to order from the breakfast, lunch, or dinner menu at any time of day or night at most locations, you can "Build Your Own Grand Slam" at 4 p.m., or enjoy a country-fried steak dinner at 7 a.m. That being said, just don't expect the server to tell you about any breakfast specials going on after typical breakfast hours. Some might, but others might not, so just be sure to ask about any specials before you order.
For a 24/7 location, however, the answer to the "when does Denny's stop serving breakfast" question is "never." For all other locations, the answer is obvious: when the kitchen closes. However, this time could vary from location to location. If the restaurant closes at 10 p.m., the kitchen might close at 9:30 p.m. or even earlier, according to St. Louis Magazine – but you also have to consider the amount of time it will take you to eat your food.
Why aren't all Denny's locations open 24/7?
We all remember 2020 when thousands of restaurants closed completely or temporarily stopped offering dine-in service due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Denny's restaurants were included in the closures. Although some eateries started re-opening a few months later, others never did, or they never returned to their original hours, per USA Today.
How did Denny's fare during the pandemic and restaurant re-opening process? According to International Business Times, Denny's had to permanently close 15 locations — all in New York — as a result of the pandemic. In early 2021, only 35% of Denny's locations were open 24/7. This number increased to 50% about a year later (via Restaurant Business).
According to The Cold Wire, two Chicago Denny's locations were among the restaurants that didn't resume normal, pre-pandemic business hours. The writer claimed as of the article's publishing that one location closed at 11 p.m., while another closed at 2 a.m. If you're unsure about the hours of a certain Denny's location that you'd like to visit, call ahead to ask. Even if you visit a Denny's that doesn't offer 24-hour service, you can still expect to order breakfast during standard breakfast, lunch, or dinner hours.