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1. It all started in 1953.
Harold Butler and Richard Jezak opened the first Denny's in Lakewood, CA. Except back then, it was known as Danny's Donuts.
2. It went through many, many name changes.
Three years after launching Danny's Donuts, Jezak jumped ship and Butler renamed their six spots Danny's Coffee Shops. Then he changed it again because he was worried people would confused it with another L.A. chain, Coffee Dan's, so it switched it to Denny's Coffee Shops. It wasn't until 1961 that he decided to drop the extra weight and go with simply "Denny's."
3. Denny's has been operating 24 hours for 60 years.
When Butler changed the name in 1956, he changed the operating hours, too. And the rest is history. (Or a whole lot of midnight and 2 a.m. flapjacks at least.)
4. It changed the pancake recipe for the first time in recent history
Denny's no longer griddles flapjacks from a just-add-water powdered mix. And apparently the pancakes are 50 percent fluffier. The new recipe includes fresh buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Apparently the tweak took three years to complete and the new ingredients will cost its 1,7000 restaurants across the country $5 million more. "Good isn't good enough anymore for the average American," Sharon Lykins, senior director of product innovation for Denny's, told USA Today. "The customers liked (the pancakes) fine. But there wasn't anything special about them that said, 'I've gotta go to Denny's to have pancakes.'"
5. The grand slam is a tribute to Hank Aaron.
In 1977, it debuted on the Denny's menu in Atlanta as a nod to the home run slugger and living legend who played for the Atlanta Braves.
6. In 2008, the chain served over 2 million free Grand Slams.
On the Tuesday after Super Bowl XLIII, two million customers got to eat on the company's dime. Must have been nice.
7. Denny's was featured in 'Breaking Bad.'
And the company freaking *loved* it. Fans of the gritty show and customers liked it, too, some were even ticked off when the Albuquerque, NM location that made a cameo moved two miles away.
8. South Park is also obsessed with Denny's.
Thanks to all those "Baconalia" specials—like bacon inside pancakes, bacon meatloaf, and a bacon sundae for dessert.
9. One man tried to eat the 'Hobbit' menu in one sitting.
Denny's decided to create a Hobbit-themed menu for each of the trilogy films and one man attempted to devour the spread in one sitting.
10. Its Twitter account is out of control.
Between snarky Taylor Swift commentaries to odd musings and cheesy puns, Denny's social media game is on fire. It'll make you laugh and also get you hungry.
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