Denny’s Locations In Minnesota and Wisconsin Have Suddenly Closed

Denny's has been an American road-trip and late-night staple for more than 70 years. The chain was founded in 1953 in Lakewood, California, by Harold Butler and Richard Jezak — not as a diner at all, but as a doughnut shop called Danny's Donuts.

It picked up the Denny's name by 1961 and grew into one of the country's best-known 24-hour diners, with roughly 1,500 restaurants nationwide today.

Like most big restaurant brands, Denny's runs largely on a franchise model, meaning the vast majority of its locations are owned and operated by independent franchisees rather than the corporation itself.

A couple of years ago, the company announced it would close about 150 underperforming restaurants nationwide as part of a turnaround, including franchises in the Midwest.

Now, a franchisee that had recently been struggling to keep its doors open has abruptly shut down its four Denny's locations in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin.

Denny's Franchisee Closes Restaurants In Minnesota and Wisconsin

The operator, M15 Inc., closed all five of its diners at 7 a.m. on September 3. In Minnesota, the shuttered locations were in Burnsville, Maplewood, Roseville and North Branch; just across the border, the Wisconsin restaurant in Hudson also went dark.

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In a closure notice, M15 said it had borrowed substantial amounts of money over the past year trying to keep the restaurants running, but could no longer "meet payroll, purchase necessary food and supplies, or continue operating responsibly" amid mounting collection activity from its lenders. The company has retained bankruptcy counsel and plans to file for Chapter 7 liquidation.

For employees, the news came fast. Workers were notified on September 2, a single day before the doors closed, and the company warned it could not guarantee enough money to cover final paychecks, advising staff to apply for state unemployment benefits.

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M15 representative Manny Trewn said the company was "working closely with Denny's and our legal advisors as we navigate next steps and meet our obligations to our employees."

Denny's corporate struck a more hopeful tone, saying it was working with urgency alongside its franchise network "to explore every viable path to reopen as many of these restaurants as we can."

How Many Denny's Are Left In Minnesota and Wisconsin?

For now, the chain's footprint is smaller but far from gone. According to Denny's own location finder, eight Denny's remain in Minnesota — in Apple Valley, Blaine, Bloomington, Otsego, Rochester, Rogers, St. Paul and West St. Paul.

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In Wisconsin, 18 Denny's locations remain open, concentrated around Madison and Milwaukee. Whether any of the closed diners reopen under a new operator, as Denny's says it hopes, remains to be seen.