If you ever want to appreciate your local Denny’s, I advise you to go live in Japan for a few years.
It’s not that Denny’s Japan is all that bad — it’s actually one of my top picks for late-night “family restaurant” coffee and dining — but something about it just doesn’t satisfy the American in me like the ones in the U.S.
Denny’s Japan is owned by the company that also owns Seven-Eleven, the top chain of convenience stores in Japan, and for some reason the company thought it would be a great idea to remind everyone of this fact by sticking big Seven-Eleven signs on all Denny’s, showing the parent company’s new name, 7&i Holdings. After all, nothing makes you hunger for good restaurant dining like a convenience store logo, and nothing builds customer loyalty like branding yourself as a holding company.
During Anime Expo in Los Angeles recently, I was quite happy to be able to enjoy breakfast in the nearby Denny’s, since I associate a Grand Slam Breakfast with the restaurant chain far more than the menu items they offer in Japan, which include lots of traditional Japanese foods like fried pork cutlet and miso soup.
I never understood why they changed there name to 7 and i holdings. Really dumb.
They also put this sign on Ito Yokado department stores, making it difficult to resist the urge to go in and ask where their onigiri are located.
so instead of naming the store after its operating (at least originally) hours, they took the square root of -49?
wonder if to can leave a tip on the check in the form of an equation?
So true. I’m always disappointed when I open the Denny’s menu in Japapan, because I always forget that it’s different from the USA menu.
Some American residents of Japan in “Not in Kansas no more, Toto!” SHOCKER.
Here in the backwaters of central Taiwan, the idea of a family restaurant has yet to catch on. What I wouldn’t give to have a Denny’s close by, even one with a Japanese menu! Or a Skylark, Royal Host, Gusto or Jonathan’s, for that matter.
On the other hand, throw a rock anywhere in Taiwan, in any direction, and there’s a pretty good chance of it hitting a Seven-Eleven.
They have Men’s Plaza Aoki there (or so I read), so maybe they can get some investing action going. I happened to live in New Zealand in 1976 when they opened the first Pizza Hut. Going there was a religious experience for us ^_^
The US Denny’s menu is disgusting. The ingredients are so-so and the food is cooked sub-par as well. Pancakes? Grand Slam? Moon Over My Hammy? Eww! I’m not so sure how the rest of you do it.
The first time I stepped into a Denny’s in Japan, it blew my mind that a Denny’s could actually have food my stomach could process. I had a small coffee, a croquette, a small bowl of fruit, and a couple other items that where cho oishikatta.
I’m with jaguth. Denny’s Japan is good. Denny’s US is only good for 2 am greasy food runs.