Last Denny's in San Francisco closes due to rampant crime, rising costs

The last Denny’s in San Francisco has closed due to rising costs and customers frequently leaving without paying for their meal in the crime-ridden city. According to the restaurant’s owner Chris Haque, he closed the 24-hour diner on Mission St. near the Union Square section after 25 years because, “The cost of doing business is tremendous. There’s vandalism, and people come and eat and walk away, and there’s no one to stop them.”

Haque told SFGATE, “We’re the only store left, and we operated until the last day that we could.” He told the outlet that business conventions weren’t coming to the area anymore after the tech industry shifted to hybrid work during the pandemic adding that city officials “should make it more business friendly.”



Haque’s franchise was called the most expensive in all of California in 2022 due to the operating costs in the city. According to SFGate, the Fit Slam, the cheapest Grand Slam plate on the menu, costs $17.99, $5 more than the meal costs at a Denny’s in San Diego or Los Angeles.

Earlier this year, a Denny’s franchise located in nearby Oakland closed after 54 years in business following a massive crime surge in the city. In-N-Out burger chain also shuttered its Oakland location this year because of a violent crime.

Since 2020, companies such as Tesla, Chevron, American Airlines, Oracle, Palantir, and Charles Schwab have moved their headquarters out of the San Francisco Bay Area amid spiking crime, a decline in the quality of life, and rising costs.

Retailers have fled the city’s downtown core, including J. Crew, Old Navy, Whole Foods, T-Mobile, Walgreens, Saks OFF 5th, and Nordstrom Rack. Last year a CNN crew that was reporting on the rampant crime had their vehicle broken into and equipment stolen.

Even politicians are not immune from the rampant crime. In April, Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) luggage was stolen out of his parked car in a downtown San Francisco parking garage and he was forced to attend a speaking event and dinner in a shirt and hiking vest.