Denny's, 199 Knox Abbott Drive: 1980s 10 comments
This building, now a Monterrey Mexican was once a Denny's. The chain has fallen on hard times in Columbia, losing stores on Two Notch, Wilson Boulevard and Airport Boulevard. They seem to be down to one store on Harbison at the current time. I believe the last time I ate in a Denny's was after a disasterous software demo somewhere in Texas when were were too beaten-down to even leave the hotel parking lot, and the time before that was at 3am after working 18 hours straight and the time before that was at 2am after spending all day preparing for another iffy demo, so even aside from the chain's checkered reputation, the place holds no draw for me. Give me IHOP or even Waffle House instead!
I suspect from the placement of this building that the Denny's may have been the "house restaurant" for the adjacent motel, but I don't know that for sure.
UPDATE 26 September 2009: Added 1976 Southern Bell Yellow Pages ad
10 Responses to 'Denny's, 199 Knox Abbott Drive: 1980s'
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Tom
24 Sep 09 at 9:11 am
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I think I remember the sambo name for the restaurant, but what I remember most are books that belonged to my mother from the early 50s that depicted Sambo, a very dark-skinned african boy. So the name Sambo conjures up a racial stereotype. I am guessing I am not the only one.
Larry
24 Sep 09 at 4:39 pm
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I thought the Sambo's was across from the HoJo they just replaced with CVS.
jamie
25 Sep 09 at 7:59 am
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Jamie- The HoJo restaurant, which predated the motel, was located on the corner of Knox Abbott and State Streeet and is now the parking lot for the office building in Parkland Plaza. It was torn down in the 1980s.
Tom
25 Sep 09 at 10:21 am
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I always liked their Grand Slam specials. It looks like I was the only one in Columbia and that didn't sustain them.
Terry
26 Sep 09 at 7:56 am
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I think the HoJo Motel opened back in 1965, but not sure. I dont remember if the restaurant was across the street at that time or not at Parkland Plaza. I agree though, I think it was torn down in the 80's sometime. Too bad things change for the worse.
Del
26 Sep 09 at 9:45 am
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http://www.highwayhost.org/SouthCarolina/Columbia/Columbia-West/west1.html
According to this site, the motel opened in 1963, the opened about ten years earlier.
Tom
27 Sep 09 at 5:01 pm
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When I was talking about the restaurant maybe being associated with the motel, I meant the one on the other side, the Tremont Inn now Riverside Inn
ted
27 Sep 09 at 5:36 pm
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Sambo's was in the approx. location of the current Red Lobster....The Denny's building was built sometime during the last 1960's.
Angela
15 Apr 10 at 2:56 pm
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Didn't one Denny's morph into Goody's for a time? Same deal, just a change of name.
Don
1 May 11 at 12:20 am
Originally this was a Sambos, then a Denny's. The motel (originally called the Tremont, which had a nerat neon sign.) Never had a restaurant, and the Monterray's was only recently remodeled to match the motel.