Is Denny’s in Belleville closed for good? Here’s what we know
A metro-east Denny’s location is closed — at least for now.
A notice at the entrance of the Denny’s at 1130 S. Illinois St. in Belleville states that the restaurant is temporarily closed but does not include the reason.
Calls to the restaurant were not answered. Inquiries sent to Denny’s media team requesting information were not immediately answered.
Denny’s announced in October 2024 that 150 restaurants would close by the end of 2025. The chain closed 88 locations in 2024. Then, during its Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 reports in February, the company said there would be 70 to 90 additional restaurant closings in 2025.
But the company’s report also highlighted a “Denny’s Diner 2.0” remodel program, which led to the overhaul of 23 locations last year with more to come.
“Our plan is to move as fast as we can,” Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade told a meeting of investors in Orlando in January.
Whether the Belleville restaurant is on the closed list or remodel list isn’t known since Denny’s hasn’t released either.
The Denny’s brand is more than 70 years old, opening its first location in 1953 as a Danny’s Donuts in Lakewood, California, according to the Denny’s website. The name changed to Denny’s Coffee Shops in 1959 and became Denny’s in 1961.
The Belleville location opened just over 50 years ago. According to the BND’s archives, the city issued a building permit to construct the 106-seat restaurant in February 1974. By the following January, Denny’s in Belleville was running ads for multiple positions at its “beautiful new restaurant in Belleville.”
