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Photo: Denny's
Just in time to welcome a new crop of cash-strapped undergrads looking for the perfect place to nosh during an all-nighter, Denny's is making some changes to its popular $2 $4 $6 $8 Value Menu. But the chain's top execs are only telling half the story.
Whether your view is from the counter or a booth, things haven't been going so well at America's most ubiquitous diner lately. It seems the recession has made even the Grand Slam a splurge for any number of Americans, and Denny's reported a 41 percent drop in net income for the second quarter this year.
But ever since Denny's unveiled its value menu in April, it's been luring more visitors every month, as the company's interim CEO told investors last week. And according to a fundamental law of corporate America, if you've got something that seems to be working, tinker with it.
In an effort to "optimize" its 16-item value menu, Denny's is introducing four new options and dropping four others. But which ones? According to Nation's Restaurant News, Denny's VP of marketing isn't saying.
Why so coy? We have no idea, but with nothing better to do on a hot August day, we've decided to engage in some semi-random speculation.
First up, the $2 menu. Denny's is adding a Cheese Quesadilla to the lineup, so it seems likely that it would drop its other cheesy offering, Cheese Fries. Same goes for the $4 menu, where it seems only logical that the new Fried Cheese Melt would replace the Three Cheese Melt.
Things get trickier as you move to the other two menus. What would Denny's Nacho Salad knock off the $6 menu? Probably not the Southern Omelette (the only breakfast item) or the Classic Burger (too, um, classic). That leaves us with Endless Soup and Garden Salad and the Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich. Tough call. We'll go with the latter, since its heartiness-and-heartburn quotient seems the closest match to the nachos.
Finally, there's the haute end of the value menu, where Denny's will overhaul half of the four items and introduce the Bacon Chipotle Skillet and Fried Shrimp Platter for eight bucks. Again, there's only one breakfast meal on the current menu, the Grand Slam Slugger, so that seems safe. There are two chicken dishes -- Lemon Pepper Chicken and Asian Chicken Salad -- so we're betting one will go. Einy-meeny-meiny-mo: sayonara Asian Chicken Salad. And since "chipotle" and "skillet" seem to be targeting the same Marlboro Man demographic as "spicy" and "cowboy," we're sending the cowboy steak off into the sunset.
That was fun. Too bad we have to wait until August 24 to find out whether we were right (check back then for our review).
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8-09-2010 @5:39PM Betty said... I was impressed with the food for the cost the last two times we went - the grand slam slugger was enough for my husband and I to share - I had the pancakes and he ate the other. It came with coffee and juice and I had water. On top of that it was on Wednesday so we got 20% off as Senior citizens so it was a VERY good deal.
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8-09-2010 @5:54PM Quixote said... I travel a lot, and have always appreciated Denny's for its adequate food, and reasonable value. I have stopped patronizing them since they replaced individual servings of half and half creamer with the chemical insult that they now serve in its place.
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8-11-2010 @9:34AM lynn said... wow, just because you don't like the coffee creamer you'll stop going?? just ask for a little real milk instead.......duh!
8-17-2010 @4:43PM Deborah said... The creamer is NOT chemicals. It comes in quart containers and is 18% milk fat. regular milk is 4%.
It is actual half and half. Ask any server and they will show you one of the cartons.
8-11-2010 @6:50AM kelly said... I wasn't very impressed the last time I was there, I ordered country fried steak meal, mashed potatoes would normally be with the meat w gravy, but thats not in the meal, fries are.
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8-11-2010 @7:12AM Julie said... I would go to Denny's more often, but it seems every time I go it takes at least a half hour to get my food, and the last time took 45 minutes - at 2 in the afternoon (not exactly lunch rush). The restaurant wasn't busy at all, and all we ordered were two superbird sandwiches with fries. I get that it isn't fast food, but Chili's manages to get our food out in less than 15 minutes most times - why can't Denny's? I feel bad for the servers - it isn't their fault that the cooks are slow, but I'm sure they take home far less in tips because of it.
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8-09-2010 @7:14PM King David said... Hmmmmm, perhaps you should realize that TO COOK something means just that -- TO COOK!!! If you're looking for a FAST FOOD PLACE then McDonalds, etc. is FOR YOU, otherwise just order your food TO BE COOKED AS IT SHOULD, sip on your coffee, and be quiet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8-09-2010 @11:22PM LIsaM said... What? You can't wait 30 minutes to eat? I agree some what, but you said it was @ 2pm, most of the employees have done thier shift & gone home, order something to "hold you over" maybe a salad, or fruit plate? Or better yet, when they seat you, ask "How long will it take to get my food", believe me, they don't want customers there any longer than than have to. I do hope you don't give up on them.. This is from someone who works @ Dennys.
8-09-2010 @6:56PM Bob said... Love the three cheese melt. Please keep in on the menu!
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8-09-2010 @8:15PM Joseph said... I have eaten twice at Denny's since they have added these value meals. They are a fantastic deal for the buck! A single man could eat there for a week for under fifty bucks.
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8-09-2010 @11:35PM LisaM said... Ooooo Joseph, you said a single man could eat there for a week for under $50.00?? That doesn't sound like a "real deal", Take one person & $50.00, go to the store, you would be surprised what you could could buy! Throw in $3.00 extra dollars & maybe someone will cook for you.:)
8-09-2010 @11:52PM JJ said... To LisaM... when's the last time you were in a grocery store??? A single man can't buy a week's worth of food for $50... and if you think he can then you're a moron.
8-10-2010 @12:59AM Paul W said... JJ - I tend to disagree. With careful shopping and a willingness to prepare food instead of getting pre-packaged stuff or eating out, one could very easily buy a week's worth of food for $50, and even half that if you are especially frugal and not too picky. You can get a package of Ramen noodles for about 50 cents, sometimes even less during a big sale. Seven of those for $3.50, maybe a pound and a half of ground beef for $4 on special, spend the rest on veggies to round it out (zucchini, carrots, asparagus, etc) and some fruit for the occasional snack/dessert, and a gallon of milk. And you might even have enough left over for a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread.
When I was in college, I was able to live on less than that for a week. All I ate each day was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, banana, vitamin pill, a couple of glasses of water and a swig or two of soda (a 2L bottle easily lasted me a week). It wasn't the healthiest way to eat, but it did sustain me and I never felt unbearably hungry.
8-09-2010 @8:24PM B said... I recently ate at Denny's and I had not eaten there in about 14 years and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the food tastes now.
I had breakfast and they now have healthier choices like wheat pancakes and turkey bacon. It was delicious! :)
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8-09-2010 @8:25PM Rusty said... How about trying out Rhode Island's greatest gourmet treat? After all, Rhode Island is FAMOUS -- no, the State is WORLD-RENOWNED -- for its restaurants and its tasty regional delicacies!
THE TACO-SEEKING SAUGY: "It's funky good spunky food" ... straight from Rhode Island's famed Pawtucket Pequod Restaurant.
How is this masterpiece made? Take an empty taco shell and make a bed of relish, generously garnishing it with chopped raw onions and garlic cloves. Slip a saugy that has been marinated in a blistering-hot habanero sauce into the taco. Slather the incarnadine saugy frank with a dollop of hot mayo. Freely sprinkle gratings of both Limburger and Gorgonzola cheeses along the sides of the saugy. Finally, drizzle the hot-mayo-coated saugy with pickle juice and ENJOY! To wash it down, try Rhode Island's very own RANDY DANDY COFFEE CABINET. This frozen coffee concoction is perfected with genuine GOYA-brand kumquat juice swirled into the mix and topped off with a layer of quandong nuts and butterscotch Cool Whip. Delicious!!!
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8-09-2010 @9:07PM dave becker said... Bring back Custy's, Rhode Islands BEST seafood buffet. And while we're wishing, keep it at $9.95 like the price was that must've broke them so long ago.
8-09-2010 @8:29PM Rusty said... Another Rhode Island favorite is SPREADABLE SPAM on rye bread. The SPAM SPREAD is mixed with mayo, margarine, and pepperoncini chunks. Add several thick slices of Roquefort cheese and some Tabasco-brand pepper sauce (preferably produced by McIlhenny Co.). Chow down!!!
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8-11-2010 @10:18AM Lloyd said... Uh . . . my wife and I stopped at a Denny's in Kentucky. The food was terrible. Hadn't been to one in many years. Ain't goin back anytime soon.
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8-11-2010 @10:25AM Mark said... Then why are so many Denny's closing? There used to be one within a half mile of my house, (always considered a luxury, as I was a night worker)... it closed years ago.. and they seem to be getting farther and farther away.... Denny's... come back to Lynn, MA!
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8-11-2010 @10:37AM Robert said... OK LET ME SAY SOMETHING I KNOW SOMEONE WHO WORKS FOR DENNYS BUT I WONT SAY WHICH ONE THIS NEW MENU IS NOT WHAT EVERYONE THINKS AND DENNYS TREATS THEIR EMPLOYEES LIKE CRAP. THE PERSON I KNOW THEIR MANAGER TREATS THEM LIKE CRAP IF THEY DONT KISS BUTT. I HAVE NOW REFUSED TO EAT AT DENNYS. MY FRIEND HAS BEEN WITH THEM FOR ALMOST 5 YEARS AND ONLY GETS 2 DAYS A WEEK BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE THERE ONLY A YEAR HAVE MORE HOURS THEN THEM. DENNYS DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR EMPLOYEES.
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