* Denny’s is closing 150 restaurant.

Definitely not one of my favorite joints to eat at!

Just trying to keep you guys in the loop…

New York
CNN
—

Denny’s is closing 150 restaurants through the end of next year. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Denny’s is closing 150 restaurants over the next year, and the 71-year-old diner chain is mulling a major change to its 24/7 operating hours.

Fifty locations are set to close by the end of 2024, while the remaining 100 will shutter in 2025, Denny’s announced in an earnings call Tuesday. That amounts to a tenth of its restaurants, leaving 1,375 locations once completed. A specific list of closing restaurants weren’t immediately announced.

Denny’s is targeting “underperforming restaurants” that are weighing down the company’s financial performance, according to Steve Dunn, Denny’s executive vice president and chief global development officer. The affected locations are either too old to be remodeled or in areas that have become unprofitable.

The chain, best known for never closing its doors, is also making a major concession with its franchisees over the requirement of remaining open 24/7. Since the pandemic, about a quarter of its restaurants have not returned to those around-the-clock hours, so Denny’s is easing up on the requirement for a franchise to do so.

Denny’s joins a broader trend of restaurants slashing hours since the pandemic. Major shifts in customer behavior, including earlier dinner times and drinking less alcohol late into the evenings, have held back a return to pre-pandemic patterns. Higher labor and food costs have also led restaurants to close earlier.

For Denny’s, Dunn admitted that 24/7 operating hours are a “contraction that happened for everyone” and that less foot traffic during those off hours mean it “didn’t make sense” for a restaurant to remain open.

Other changes at Denny’s include a slimmed-down menu, with the number of options whittled down to 46 from 97. The chain also noticed that cash-strapped adults were increasingly ordering off its kid’s menu to save money.

Denny’s (DENN) shares dropped 17% Tuesday after earnings missed analysts’ expectations. The stock is down 50% for the year.

* Humor!

An elderly couple were lying in bed one night. The husband was falling asleep but the wife was in a romantic mood and wanted to talk.

She said: “You used to hold my hand when we were courting.”

Wearily he reached across, held her hand for a second, and tried to get back to sleep.

A few moments later she said: “Then you used to kiss me.”

Mildly irritated, he reached across, gave her a peck on the cheek, and settled down to sleep.

Thirty seconds later she said: “Then you use to bite my neck.”

Angrily, he threw back the comforter and got out of bed.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“ To the bathroom to get my teeth!”

***** Beijing Palace Chinese Restaurant, 15200 Jog Road, Delray Beach, Florida 33446,
(561) 637-1686.

Got a real good Chinese joint for you guys to checkout, Beijing Palace Chinese Restaurant in Delray Beach.

Real easy tale to tell, last night- Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats “discovered” Beijing Palace Chinese Restaurant and its food easily passed Jeff Eats’ Brooklyn Jewish American Chinese Taste Test circa 1957 with flying colors! Table/booth seating, reasonably priced lunch & dinner appetizers/ soups/ entrees/ combo plates/ specials menu.

Let’s wrap up Beijing Palace Chinese Restaurant by saying that Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats really enjoyed the food, we will definitely be back and the joint is open Monday-Saturday noon-9pm/ Sunday 3pm -8pmv.

***** DISH OF THE WEEK (Sunday- 10/20/24- Pizza District).

One of Jeff Eats’ favorite menu items…

HOUSE MADE GARLIC ROLLS
(6 rolls/$7.99 12 rolls/$10.99, comes with marinara sauce)

Pizza District
6919 Southwest 18th Street
Boca Raton
(561) 961-4163
pizzadistrict.com
Latest Review: 2/2/20

This is Pizza District’s 2nd DISH OF THE WEEK shout-out!

Trust Jeff Eats on this one, this joint’s Garlic Rolls are to die for!

Posted on February 2nd, 2020.

***** DISH OF THE WEEK (Sunday-2/23/20- Pizza District).

One of Jeff Eats’ favorite menu items…

MEAT LOVERS PIZZA
(18” $22.99- pepperoni, Italian sausage, steak, bacon, mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce)

Pizza District
6919 Southwest 18th Street
0Boca Raton
(561) 961-4163
pizzadistrict.com
Latest Review: 8/20/18

Absolutely love this joint. Terrific pizza, subs, salads.

Give Pizza District a shot, you won’t be disappointed!

Posted on August 20th, 2018

***** Pizza District, 6919 Southwest 18th Street, Boca Raton, FLorida 33433, (561) 961-4163.

Got a real good pizza joint for you guys to checkout- Pizza District in Boca Raton.

The Skinny- the joint opened about 3 months ago, table/hi-top/counter seating, menu of reasonably priced- pizzas/salads/calzones/wings/subs/garlic rolls/beers/wines, open Monday-Thursday 11am–10pm/ Friday–Saturday 11am-11pm/ Sunday noon–10pm.

Last night, Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats gave Pizza District a shot and I gotta tell you that the joint killed it! Absolutely delicious thin crust pepperoni pizza/ garlic rolls/ chicken parm sub/ Greek salad!

Let me wrap this tale up by telling you guys- that Pizza District’s delicious food/ pleasant service/ reasonable prices/ cool looking “steel” decor/ easy going vibe- spell winner in Jeff Eats’ book!

You guys can check menu/prices/info at pizzadistrict.com.

***** Hershey Assorted Chocolate Candy Variety Pack – 2lb Bulk Halloween Candy Mix.

Two weeks ago, I did a really dumb thing, I ordered from Amazon…

1- Hershey Assorted Chocolate Candy Variety Pack – 2lb Bulk Halloween Candy Mix – Individually Wrapped Chocolate Candy – Hershey Miniatures Assortment – Bulk Hershey Kisses, KitKat, Rolo, Heath Bars, and More – Trick or Treat Bulk Candy Pack – 2 Pounds $19.98

And now I gotta order another one!

Happy Halloween!

***** Bamboo Court Chinese Restaurant, 9623 North US Highway 1, Sebastian, Florida 32958, (772) 388-1850.

Got a real good Chinese joint for you guys to checkout, Bamboo Court Chinese Restaurant in Sebastian.

Real easy tale to tell- Yesterday, Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats “discovered” Bamboo Court Chinese Restaurant and its food was right on the money! Order/pickup at counter, handful of tables, reasonably priced appetizers/ soups/ entrees/ combo plates/ lunch specials menu.

Just between you guys and me, I’ll bet you a buck, that you’ve been in a ton of fast-food Cantonese Chinese joints- that looked just like Bamboo Court Chinese Restaurant. And, I’ll also bet you another buck, that most of the time, the joints’ food was just-maybe-passable!

Anyway, trust old Jeff Eats on this one, this joint’s food was really good!

Let’s wrap-up Bamboo Court Chinese Restaurant by saying, if the joint was a whole lot closer to Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats’ Boca Raton abode- we would definitely be steady eat in-takeout customers!

You guys can check menu/prices/info at bamboocourtsebastian.com

Bamboo Court Chinese Restaurant is open:Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 11am-9pm/ Friday-Saturday 11am-10pm/ Sunday noon-9pm/ closed Wednesday.

This contest started on 10/17/24. This contest has a winner.

* Win 2 $10 Burger King Gift Cards.

Jeff Eats got 2 $10 Burger King Gift Cards to give to one of you guys!

The game- the first 20 “reader-comments” received – will be entered in a “blind hat pick”! You can submit as many comments as you’d like but- Please, only 1- reader comment – per day…play

The 2 $10 Gift Cards are good at any Burger King location (burgerking.com for locations, menu, info).

This contest started on 10/16/24. This contest has a winner.

* Win A $10 Fran’s Chicken Haven Gift Card.

Jeff Eats got a $10 Fran’s Chicken Haven Gift Card to give to one of you guys!

The game- the first 10 “reader-comments” received – will be entered in a “blind hat pick”! You can submit as many comments as you’d like but- Please, only 1- reader comment – per day…play fair!

The $10 Gift Card is good at Fran’s Chicken Haven, 1925 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 395-0781.

You can check menu/prices at franschickenhaven.com.

Posted on March 13th, 2019 ·

***** Fran’s Chicken Haven, 1925 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 395-0781.

Let’s just call this tale a “2019-Public Service Announcement”….

Just a quick observation- You guys do know that most cardiologists don’t know dick-about fried chicken!
In any event…

If you “need” to eat absolutely off the chart-dynamite fried chicken (like Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats needed to do last night), read on…

Posted on December 28th, 2015

***** Fran’s Chicken Haven, 1925 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 395-0781

Let’s just call this- a Jeff Eats’ “Certain Things Bear Repeating” story…

Jeff Eats just has to laugh- when the Sun Sentinel seemingly “year after year crowns” PUBLIX FRIED CHICKEN the best in South Florida! There is an old Irish saying- “Give Me A Fu@king Break.”

Long story short, Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats have been- on and off (see below-as to why “on and off”) “taking-out” fried chicken and “various” sides from Fran’s Chicken Haven in Boca Raton for something like 23 years!- and I gotta tell you -that this joint’s fried chicken/sides are absolute dynamite! Trust Jeff Eats on this one – trying to rank the “best” in the food reviewing game- is a dumb no win game…with that in mind, what I do know, is that Fran’s fried chicken is off-the-chart good and that after you eat it- you will never-want to voluntarily buy or eat Publix fried chicken ever again!

If you want to eat outrageously delicious fried chicken…Fran’s Chicken Haven is a must try.

You can check menu/info at franschickenhaven.com.

Posted on July 5th, 2013

***** Fran’s Chicken Haven, 1925 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 395-0781.

Got something terrific for you…

That’s assuming that you aren’t a “follower” of NYC Mayor Bloomberg–in that you don’t need “Big Brother” (and no, I’m not talking about Janis’ group) to tell you what you can and can’t eat…

Real fast… from 1964-2000 a woman named Fran (thus the name Fran’s Chicken Haven) and her husband Joe, operated a “hole-in-the-wall” fried chicken joint—Fran’s Chicken Haven in Boca Raton. Maybe 3 tables and 4-5 counter seats. In a nutshell, amazing fried chicken and assorted sides. In 2000 the couple retired and sold the business—for the past 12-13 years Fran’s has had 3-maybe 4 different owners who slowly but surely wrecked the business. Jeff Eats may not be the sharpest pencil in the box, but I do know that when something ain’t broke, you don’t try and fix it…one owner changed the batter-mix and added latin sides, another made the joint a kosher chicken restaurant-closing on Friday nights and all day Saturday—hopefully you get the picture.

Since Fran and Joe sold the joint, Jeff Eats who had previously been a real-steady customer, has maybe picked-up chicken 7 or 8 times in the ensuing years.

Now the news…two brothers- Jake Stuart (aged 19) and Chris Stuart (aged 32) both born and bred—Boca Ratonians—bought Fran’s a month or so ago…and have literally “brought” it back to where it was taste-wise during the Fran & Joe era. How does Jeff Eats know all this? Because…Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats ala Marvin Gaye heard it through the grapevine—and yesterday, picked up an 8 piece fried chicken, French fries, onion rings, fried corn nibblets order—and I gotta tell you, the food tastes just like we “remember” Fran making it…the “boys” told us that the sale/purchase of the business had included all of Fran’s original recipes and that they had visited with Fran and Joe (who still live in Boca Raton) to get a feel on how to run the joint.

Let me leave you guys with this…if you like fried chicken, fries, onion rings, fried corn nibblets—-then you gotta get over to Fran’s Chicken Haven.

One final thought…

Jake and Chris— When the crowds start pouring in, which they will—don’t even think of renaming the joint- Stuart Brothers Chicken Haven or some such variation!

Down below is the original June 20, 2006 Jeff Eats’ review for Fran’s Chicken Haven:

***** “Fran’s makes some of the best fried chicken that you have ever tasted. This joint has been around something like 40 years and is an absolute hole in the wall. Basically a take-out joint, there are a few tables and a counter for those who want to “dine in.” FRIED is the word here…shrimp, corn, french fries, onion rings. Everything is absolutely delicious.

Don’t tell your cardiologist about this joint.

Fran’s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.”

***** Spinnato’s Hoagies & Meats, 231 South Federal Highway, Pompano Beach, Florida 33062, (954) 953-8984.

Got a real good hoagies joint for you guys to check-out, Spinnato’s Hoagies & Meats in Pompano Beach.

Real simple tale to tell, yesterday afternoon, Jeff Eats, Mrs. Jeff Eats, Daughter Jeff Eats and Son Jeff Eats “discovered” Spinnato’s Hoagies & Meats and its hoagies/salads blew us away! Order/pickup at the counter, handful of inside/outside tables, reasonably priced hot & cold hoagies/sandwiches, salads menu.

Let’s wrap-up Spinnato’s Hoagies & Meats by saying, delicious subs and salads, excuse me- I meant to say hoagies and salads- open Monday-Saturday 10am-4:30pm/closed Sunday, that you can check menu/prices/info at spinnatoshoagies.com, that its egg salad absolutely killed!

* The Penguin.

I don’t know about you guys, but this tv “streaming” business is driving me nuts!

I got more cable and streaming services than there are Chins in a Chinese Phonebook!

I have no idea how I got them, who’s paying for them, when shows are on and not on…

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I came across a new limited (8 episodes) series The Penguin on HBO!

Now I’m no Siskel and Ebert but I am telling you…

Absolute dynamite!

IF you have HBO and-wanna get hooked on something,