Oh my Moons Over My Hammy: The Denny's restaurant on West Broadway is wrapping up a one-year run as the diner chain's "test kitchen" location this month and will turn itself back into a regular Denny's.
Last spring, the Denny's at 1759 W Broadway in Vancouver became the chain's Canadian "Test Kitchen" where they tried out dishes to move onto the Denny's menu nationwide.
The location is situated on the ground floor of the same building that houses the Denny's Canada head offices. The franchisor is the Northland Group, which owns the Sandman and Sutton Place hotel chains; resorts like Grouse Mountain and Revelstoke; and restaurants like Moxies, Chop Steakhouse, and the award-winning Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar.
Customers at this one-of-a-kind version of the longstanding U.S.-born diner-style chain were issued special menus featuring a handful of classic Denny's dishes (like Grand Slam breakfasts and mozzarella sticks) mixed with items marked "TK" for "test kitchen." These were rotating dishes the Canadian franchise was testing out and collecting feedback from guests.
Based on their May 2023 "test kitchen" menu and the March 2024 version posted online, several items were still being tested 10 months later, like the "Philly Cheesesteak Melt" and "Fettuccini Marinara." Some "test kitchen" items, like a few burgers, have been added to Denny's menus at other locations, such as the other Vancouver Denny's on Davie Street.
"Your valuable critiques have guided us in experimenting with innovative menu items, shaping our offerings across Canada!" reads the webpage for the Denny's on Broadway.
The restaurant will be closed on May 6 and 7 and will re-open on May 8 for the "return of [the] classic diner experience," according to Denny's.
At the time of its debut, the Denny's on Broadway was the third "test kitchen" concept for a major Canadian chain in Metro Vancouver. Earls has long used its Downtown Vancouver restaurant on Hornby Street as its test kitchen, while White Spot opened its experimental R+D Kitchen concept at the Amazing Brentwood in Burnaby in 2022. R+D Kitchen closed at the end of April, with White Spot citing operational challenges due to the restaurant's location in the sprawling development.
V.I.A. has reached out to Denny's Canada's corporate office for more information about the West Broadway location's impending change from the test kitchen format.
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