Denny's goes in early '08

A long tradition of comfort food and 24-hour service that has served generations will end by early 2008 as the wrecking ball comes crashing down on Denny's restaurant to make way for a six-story condominium.

Rhapsody Partners purchased the property at 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street from the failed Seattle Monorail Project. They plan to build the 60,000 square foot, 250-unit Ballard Commons on the property.

According to the Oct. 3, 1984 issue of the News-Tribune, Denny's opened its door at one minute after mid-night on Oct. 2 of that year. The late night debut signified the restaurant's all-night, all-day service that has been one of its main attractions for customers.

"We've been serving the Ballard community for nearly 25 years. Seattle is a good market for us," said Debbie Atkins, director of public relations and communications for Denny's corporate offices in South Carolina.

Denny's is currently on a month-to-month lease.

"We will continue to do so as long as the market makes sense," said Atkins.

According to Atkins, Denny's Ballard restaurant is a strong performer and her company would consider any opportunity to continue operating at the Ballard location.

Katie Vance, a partner with Rhapsody Partners, said her company is trying to work out all the details of finding retail tenants. She didn't know if the retail space available could accommodate a Denny's restaurant with its parking needs, along with parking required for other businesses.

Vance described the possibility of making room for another Denny's as "a tough finesse." She did say Rhapsody Partners is trying to find another restaurant as a tenant.

Before Denny's, a Mannings restaurant had become an institution in Ballard. The Ballard Mannings originally opened further west on Market Street. Although there are no exact dates available, it is believed Mannings opened in the area in the early 1940s.

The restaurant moved to the Northwest corner of 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street in 1965. It closed on June 30, 1983, representing the end of an era in cafeteria-style food service.

"Mannings was as much a social meeting place as a restaurant. We can't hurry customers through," Williams said in 1983.

The restaurant billed itself as the "Great American Feast," with menu items like roast beef, Swedish hotcakes, Belgian waffles and offered free Thanksgiving dinners to seniors.

Ted Peterson was born in 1934 and can remember going to Mannings as a 10-year-old with his father, the late Washington state senator with the same name who was in office in the 1950s. Son, Ted Peterson said he often ordered an egg salad sandwich and a slice of custard pie.

"My dad used to meet with buddies, eat sandwiches and talk," said Peterson.

Mannings' buffet and coffee bar was popular with Ballardites.

"It was a busy place in the old days. All the locals went there. Now Denny's is an institution too," said Ballard resident Harold Nilsen.

Bill Damon found Mannings' unusually shaped building interesting.

"Everyone looked at it and said it was a strange building. It was exotic," said Damon.

Denny's responded to public pressure and kept the old building's design with only slight changes, even though most Denny's restaurants were designed from the ground up.

While there are other restaurants in Ballard, being a 24-hour restaurant with an extensive menu is a big draw for Denny's.

"You could order breakfast, dinner and a variety of items," said Damon. "Everyone could satisfy themselves. I stopped there all the time, at all hours of the day."

"It's good food and a reasonable price," said Hansen. "All kinds of people go there, it's always filled. On Christmas day, its the only place open in Ballard."

Damon said Denny's has become an important landmark for Ballard.

"Most everyone knew where Denny's was," he said. "I'm going to miss it. I got used to seeing it on that corner."

Kae Ellingsen is upset to see another condominium coming in the community.

"It is so sad to see the physical, cultural and demolition in Ballard," said Ellingsen.

Hansen was displaced when her apartment building was sold to a condominium developer earlier this year. Fortunately, she found another place to live nearby.

"Another condo is coming in," Hansen said. "You look at Ballard and it is sad. You have to expect changes, but this is a little bit much."

Dean Wong may be reached at deanw@robinsonnews.com