Popular breakfast chain Denny’s abruptly shuts beloved store and moves to close neighboring location amid fears more are on the chopping block

In Ohio, a branch of the beloved breakfast chain Denny’s has closed, surprising even local residents.

The Ashland branch, located on Route 250 about 60 miles southwest of Cleveland, closed permanently last week.

The closure appears to be part of a broader trend: the breakfast chain has already closed several locations in the past year.

It appears that Denny’s sister stores in the neighboring cities of Akron, Ontario and Mansfield are also set to close.

Denny’s has about 1,600 locations nationwide, but at least 120 have closed in the past two years

According to its website, Denny’s has about 1,600 locations nationwide.

Locals expressed their disappointment online, with one server saying they were mourning the closure.

“It’s the end of 13 years at Denny’s, with so many amazing people along the way.. I’m so sad!” wrote server Ashley Gregory. “I can’t believe this is actually true, but I can’t express how grateful I am to have had a job for so long, and to have been able to work with my schedule.

“As a waiter and a manager and a cook, it’s really a sad time. This was not only my second home, but also as a family. I’m grieving like I lost someone!” Gregory shared.

“Sad day in Ashland, the Denny’s is closed. For good,” wrote Don Bigelow.

60 Denny’s locations closed in 2022 and another 60 in 2023. This trend continued into 2024.

Many residents love their local Denny’s so much that some took to Facebook to say they were “grieving” after another closure

“Yesterday I heard that Ashland Denny’s is permanently closed. Oh, the fun stories you can tell if you go there after the bars close for the night. I just hope a Waffle House comes in,” Bob Egyedi added.

Ashland’s appears to be part of a larger trend affecting Denny’s locations in Ohio and Michigan.

Denn-Ohio, a franchisee in the region, filed for bankruptcy last fall and subsequently closed 10 stores, including several in Ohio.

Elsewhere, a Denny’s store in Pennsylvania recently closed, as did one of its two locations in Lubbock, Texas.

Denny’s closing was announced with a sign on the front door

Last month, the last Denny’s location in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, officially closed its doors.

The closure on June 19 was quietly announced with a sign on the front door of the restaurant on East Lincoln Highway in Langhorne.

Fans of the chain’s Moons Over My Hammy breakfast sandwich will now have to head to Lehigh Valley, Delaware County or New Jersey to satisfy their cravings.

The Langhorne location is one of 25 Denny’s stores that have closed this year.

That’s on top of 60 that will close in 2023 and 2022, according to the company’s 2023 annual report.

Robert Verostek, Denny’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, blamed inflation as a major factor leading to the closures when he spoke to investors in February.

The recently closed Denny’s, the last in Bucks County, photographed on July 8, 2024. It closed on June 19

He pointed out that the breakeven point for a restaurant to stay open had risen from $1 million to $1.2 million due to higher food and wage costs.

“We will therefore continue to implement additional closures as a result of inflationary pressure,” Verostek said.

Denny’s is undergoing several changes in an effort to refresh the brand, including the introduction of a new menu, an updated loyalty program with monthly challenges and even virtual brands.

In February, a 54-year-old Denny’s location in Oakland closed due to rising crime in the Bay Area.

Restaurants are having an increasingly difficult time this year.

Inflation is partly to blame. Prices have risen steadily over the past two years and the higher costs are being passed on to the customer.

Perhaps inevitably, these price increases have led to a decline in visitor numbers.

Larger chains like Applebee’s, TGI Fridays and Boston Market have all recently closed their restaurants, as have smaller chains like BurgerFi.

Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in May and also closed nearly 100 restaurants and is considering closing another 135.

Chains have been hit hardest in California, where the minimum wage for fast-food restaurants increased to $20 an hour effective April 1.

In early June, Mexican chain Rubio’s closed 48 locations in the state and also filed for bankruptcy.

Concerns about mass closures also emerged in June when BurgerFi, which bills itself as an upscale McDonald’s, announced it was considering bankruptcy.

Bosses are considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which would allow the company to terminate the leases of its worst-performing restaurants and sell off the contents — as Red Lobster did last month.

National coffee and luxury supermarket chain Foxtrot announced in early April that it would be closing all of its stores with immediate effect, leaving staff and customers stunned.

Meanwhile, retailer Express, a major player in shopping malls, filed for bankruptcy in April and said it would close 95 stores.

The closures are part of a broader downturn in U.S. retail, which has seen nearly 2,600 stores close their doors this year.

The store, which was first established in 1976, will close its locations at the end of this month

99 Cents Only Store to close all 371 stores in the country this year

Major names like Macy’s, Walmart, Walgreens, Foot Locker and 7-Eleven have all announced they will be closing their stores.

Discount stores like Family Dollar and the bankrupt 99 Cents Only have been hit the hardest, as have drugstores like CVS and Rite Aid.

If closures continue at the same pace for the rest of the year, the total number of closures in 2024 will reach 7,800. That is almost 40 percent more than the total in 2023.

Physical stores are struggling due to competition from online stores.