Denny's, Two Notch at I-77: early 2000s 6 comments
What can I say about Denny's? Well, if you are working until 2AM, it's the only place other than The Waffle House that you can eat at, and the food in the pictures on the menus looks really good!
No matter which location of Denny's I stop at, I have invariably found that the service is both slow and poor, and that the food, while edible, rarely looks nearly as good as the pictures on the menus. I recall an incident in the news some years ago where a couple of Secret Service agents, who happened to be black, were suing the chain for discrimination. I remember thinking at the time:
Well, it certainly could be discrimination, but it's also possible that they got the standard Denny's service and couldn't believe something that bad was not on purpose..
At one time, Denny's had three locations in Columbia that I can think of, this one, one on Airport Blvd and one on Harbison Rd. I think at this point only the Harbison location is left. I recall this location in particular as one to which my father, aunt, sister and I went once when we had the urge for pancakes. My father was the nicest man in the world, and would put up with anything, but even he commented on how bad the service was. After Denny's failed in this location, it was a sports bar for a while, and is now a carpet and floor store -- but I bet they could still get you a plate of pancakes faster than Denny's could.
6 Responses to 'Denny's, Two Notch at I-77: early 2000s'
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Deirde
12 Mar 08 at 3:38 pm
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I used to haunt this place late at night with friends when we could stomach any awful waffle. A friend, the same one who served everyone beer at Godfathers, and I were high as kites and started talking crap about this our waitress. My other friend who was sitting across started getting redder and redder and slinking in his seat. Turns out the waitress we were talking about was behind us cleaning the tables.
geoff
8 May 08 at 8:57 pm
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Anywhere I ever lived there was a Denny's....and within 6 months it closed. The whole chain in general suxx. The only time I could stomach the chow was when I was so drunk I could eat cardboard.
Note: Yes I tried eating there sober.....it wasn't a pretty sight afterwards
Note #2: This link is correct for my site.....duh on me
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There was another Denny's on North Main St. I'm assuming that one closed also... it was always completely deserted. Really strange location for a Denny's. I like Dennys in many cities! This two Notch location was awful... service was always horrible.
Joe
23 Nov 08 at 2:32 pm
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The last time I went to this Denny's was, I believe, in the summer of 2003. It was late at night. My friend and I actually had to walk into the kitchen to find a waitress to seat us. The restaurant was completely empty throughout our meal. We had to wander into the kitchen, once again, to find a waitress to ring us up before leaving. The food wasn't bad and the service was fine once we found a staff member, but I assumed this was the death knell for this Denny's. I believe it closed sometime in 2004.
As for other Denny's locations in Columbia, yes, the Harbison location (previously Starlight Diner and Thunderbird Cafe, possibly among other names) is the only one left. Does anyone remember the Airport Blvd. location near I-26? I ate at this one several times and always received horrible service. The one at Harbison is kind of a toss-up. Many Denny's I have visited out of state have been better than the ones in Columbia, however (Florida in particular). Perkins is a good choice for a similar dining environment with typically better service and food, if you're in an area that has one.
Jeremy
6 Dec 08 at 12:57 am
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The Harbison Denny's is still ticking and there is also one at I-20 and Fairfield Road...
I've never actually eaten at Denny's but they have several meals that are 1,500-1,700 calories (such as the fried cheese melt and and their latest is the Mac 'N Cheese Big Daddy Patty Melt>). Jay Leno one time during a headlines segment on his show wondered if you needed an "Appetizer Before Breakfast" like they offered...
Andrew
12 Sep 11 at 11:01 pm
Those Secret Service agents went to a Denny's (in Virginia, I believe) with white colleagues. The group split up, the blacks sitting separately. An hour later, when the white agents were paying their bills, the blacks had not even been waited on. That stunt cost Denny's millions in fines. But it wasn't the first racial dis at Denny's, nor has it been the last. Because I believe this is part of Denny's corporate culture, no matter how much they deny it, I do not patronize any Denny's anywhere in the country, and I wish other people would do the same. Some companies only speak "pocketbook," so let's talk to them in their own language (although since Denny's keeps getting fined, maybe they don't care about the money, after all). There is no excuse for corporate (or any kind of) racism in our country. It shames us all.