The gastronomic landscape of San Francisco has seen the closure of its last Denny's, a mainstay on the 816 Mission St. location for close to a quarter of a century. According to a report by SFGATE, franchise owner Chris Haque announced the 24-hour diner chain served its final meal on August 1, succumbing to the pressures of high operating costs, vandalism, and incidents of diners leaving without paying. Haque detailed the struggles faced by the establishment, which sat in the shadow of Union Square. "We’re the only store left, and we operated until the last day that we could," he expressed in a melancholic yet decisive tone.
A poignant encapsulation of the 816 Mission Street diner's demise was echoed on social media by local photographer Thomas Hawk. His post on X depicted an abandoned space once buzzing with patrons, now overtaken by an unsightly yellow sign, defaced with black paint, a testament to the restaurant's dissolution. Hawk lamented the loss, correlating it to the exodus of conventions from the city to more welcoming venues such as Phoenix and Las Vegas. "As the conventions flee San Francisco for Phoenix and Las Vegas our local businesses here close", he noted, painting a somber picture of local commerce affected.
Denny’s, 816 Mission Street, San Francisco (permanently closed)
— Thomas Hawk (@thomashawk) August 7, 2024
Well they finally closed the Denny’s at the corner of 4th and Mission Streets in downtown San Francisco.
All that is left behind is the empty restaurant and a big ugly yellow sign with black paint all over it.… pic.twitter.com/EUxM8cbGnh
It wasn't just the declining foot traffic from conventions that contributed to the Denny's closure. The vicinity of the location to areas of drug affliction was another factor. The shuttering of this Denny's followed a similar fate as the one near the Hegenberger Road corridor in Oakland earlier this year, which also cited safety concerns. In his X post missive, Hawk didn't shy away from criticizing city leadership. "Dennys may longer be open 24/7 at this location, but meth and fentanyl still are due to our do nothing mayor @LondonBreed and her do nothing police chief @SFPDChief Bill Scott," Hawk said, highlighting the ongoing drug crisis.
Despite the sobering current events, the now-closed Denny's was once noted for its notoriety as the priciest Denny's in California. Nico Madrigal-Yankowski, an SFGATE food reporter, reminisced about consuming a satisfying yet wallet-thinning breakfast at this location back in December 2022. “I didn’t quite find God after eating at the most expensive Denny’s in the state, but it was a scrumptious and completely satisfying meal,” he reviewed. Haque still runs a Denny's in Tacoma, Washington, maintaining his connection to the brand beyond the Bay Area's dwindling diner presence.
