Denny’s in Rexburg opened Monday morning to a warm reception of excited customers.
“When we got here this morning there were some people that had gotten in line at 5 a.m.,” said Carrie Jones, the district manager for the California and Idaho market franchise. “It was great.”
Usually, employees at chain restaurants have previous work experience at the chain before. That’s not the case for this Denny’s.
“Not one of the 112 employees that we’ve hired has ever worked at a Denny’s before,” Jones said. “Very rare. So we’re very new, but they’re doing it. I’m so excited.”
One of these new employees is Kelcie Lowery, a server.
“The trainers did a really good job at helping us,” Lowery said. “At the beginning, it was pretty rough, but throughout the week that we were training they really whipped us into shape and I think we’re handling it pretty well.”
To cater to the Rexburg culture, Denny’s will have a unique “Denny’s After Dark” event every Sunday.
“We realized that a lot of students like to come out after midnight on Sundays,” Jones said. “So what we’re putting into play is something called ‘Denny’s After Dark’ where our intention is to have live music. This Sunday we have a band set up, the following Sunday we have an a cappella group and the third Sunday we’re gonna try to do a karaoke night.”
Denny’s is located at 585 N 2nd E St. and is open 24/7.
“This has been the talk of the town for a while and we’re excited to be here and we hope to keep that energy going,” said James Pulsipher, the Denny’s manager. “Be America’s diner.”