Denny's

Richard Jezak and Harold Butler founded Denny's (as Danny's Donuts) in Lakewood, California in 1953.[3] Denny's expanded to twenty restaurants by 1959, when the chain was renamed Denny's to avoid confusion with another chain, "Doughnut Dan's".[4] The business continued to grow and by 1981, there were over 1,000 restaurants in all 50 U.S. states. In 1977, Denny's introduced the still-popular Grand Slam breakfast. In 1994, Denny's became the largest corporate sponsor of Save the Children, a national charity. All but six Denny's closed for the first time ever on Christmas 1988; many of the restaurants were built without locks, and some had reportedly lost their keys.