The Denny’s located at 2160 N. Walnut St. permanently closed Jan. 23.
Denny’s, which is an American diner-style restaurant chain, has been in Bloomington for around 40 years.
Server Tory McCraw — who managed the floor at Denny’s for two years off and on — said she was not informed why it closed but said the business was in extreme debt.
“There was a discussion for a few months that we may be getting new owners but didn’t know when, or if we did, what they were going to do,” McCraw said. “We were not getting any business and it just kept slowing down with less and less customers.”
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McCraw said she was working Jan. 22 when the general manager came in and said there was a meeting with the new owners on Monday and all employees were required to be there.
“By 7 a.m. Monday morning, my phone was blowing up from other employees saying that they were already taking the sign down and that they are being told we are permanently shut down,” McCraw said.
McCraw said she was not surprised about Denny’s closing because the business had been going downhill for the last few years.
“It’s very unfortunate because it was a great place, but due to the lack of management and employees, it just wasn’t appealing for people to feel comfortable to eat a family meal,” McCraw said.
CORRECTION: this story has been updated to specify Denny's has been open in Bloomington for around 40 years.
