The Invincible Business of Diners

Fluffy pancakes, sunny-side eggs, crispy bacon, golden hash browns with buttered toast and coffee. For decades, diners have specialized in serving not just the hearty American breakfast but also classics like burgers, waffles, milkshakes, soup, and pie. Due to their sustained popularity and depiction in TV & film through generations, diners have become so ingrained into American culture that they’ve become iconic establishments over the world.

While every industry is evolving, diners are the rare example of a business that's been invincible to change. While the restaurant industry has gravitated towards off-premise dining, originality, and automation, diners have remained consistent since the 1940s with huge menus, staying open 24/7 or into the late night, traditional service with pen and paper, simple comfort foods, and an accepting atmosphere.

At a diner, there are no reservations, no VIPs, no private areas, no policies, no minimums, and no judgment. In this episode, we’ll cover the invincible business of the American diner and analyze the 3 biggest chains in the world - Denny’s, Cracker Barrel, and IHOP - who each have their own strategy and go after customers in different ways.

0:00 A Culinary & Cultural Oasis
6:43 America's Diner
15:50 Old Country Roads
21:35 Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity

[ModernMBA]

0:00 A Culinary & Cultural Oasis
6:43 America's Diner
15:50 Old Country Roads
21:35 Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity

[xeno_dork]

I would love to see a deep dive like this on American Chinese restaurants and the invisible connections that fosters uniformity amongst so many completely unrelated businesses.

[brainwashingdetergent]

I own a little diner, it’s in the middle of nowhere and has been a diner for over 40 years. I’m the sixth owner of this restaurant and it has been a good challenge.

[lunarlake]

I deeply miss having 24-hour diners in Germany. They were among my favorite things about the US. Working irregular shifts often meant limited options for food after work. In Germany, if you don't have a 9-to-5 job, you feel quite left out because EVERYTHING is setup to serve 9to5 job customers when it comes to opening times. Even the supermarkets aren't open after a night shift most of the time. But when I visited the United States and arrived in Austin at 4am, being able to enjoy a lovely meal and coffee before our 3-hour drive was an unparalleled experience. Also because its so often shown on TV series or movies made in the US. I dont know why it is so special to me, but knowing you can go to a diner 24h a day is just awesome.

[alterfun]

Chugging a pile of pancakes for breakfast was truly a culture shock for an Scandinavian. Took me till noon to recover and get the insulin to balance after a pile of chocolate chip pancakes at IHOP.

[solarmoth]

I never really think about chain diners when I think about diners. The most popular ones around where I live are family owned diners that have been in the community for decades. I personally think they taste better but that’s probably the nostalgia. one thing I will say is the food is always consistent. it’s the same each time, hot, tasty and welcoming bcs the servers have watched everyone in town grow up.

[Nether]

Post covid all of the good diners in my city stopped being open late and never resumed since. I never realized until it was gone how integral having a place my friends and I can be for long periods of time at any time of day or night was. Especially as a working class person who has to work irregular and often very late hours, it made living in my city feel almost hostile or alienating without 24 hour establishments present. Like almost no public venue existed where I could spend the time I had after work. I kind of just had to go straight home and wait for the next day to start. I think 24 hour diners are straight up an integral part of the living environment in modern America, it really feels like a key part of the social environment is gone in my area.

[minhlncool]

My dad told me there are 2 kind of business that's always working: first is transportation, 2nd is food. Things always need to be shipped, and people always need to eat, so by chance if u can offer something tasty at reasonable price, the business can thrive

[iTzDritte]

I love how frequently late-night drunks are referenced 😂 great business model!

[madnessarcade]

Sometimes I forget that Dennys is a diner because I’m used to imagining diners as small off the beaten path mom and pop owned businesses

[its_jawsh]

I work in Pharmacueticals and would really love to see you do a video on Pfizer, CVS, Walgreens, J&J, or Merck. It’s a really interesting industry but rarely do we as workers really understand where the company is going and if it’s profitable or sustainable at all especially with Amazon Pharmacy and medical on the rise. Please please please consider this idea. I’m sure alot of people would find it interesting!

[DororoXPenana]

We have a diner in my hometown that's been here for 70 years. I was so terrified covid was going to put them out of business since no one went out to eat. But their customers were determined to keep them around so when they ordered, picked up and followed covid protocols still. I'm so happy they survived and continue to thrive!

[Crispycremes]

Born and raised in New Jersey. Living somewhere were you aren’t 10 minutes from a solid diner is such a foreign concept to me, veryyy lucky

[denisskaibagarovs]

I can’t recommend more the book “Egg, Bacon, Chips and Beans” where a guy wrote about 50 most prominent UK diners with a huge analysis on what makes them unique.

[JosePlata]

I was a cook at Denny's when the Grand Slams were $1.99 (1981-82 ish). People waited around the block on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I started that job thinking I'd be dreaming about hamburgers. I ended up dreaming about pancakes instead. I was 20 yrs old, worked the graveyard shift. My manager was a knucklehead, albeit a nice one. He was not allowed in my kitchen when I was the lead cook on shift. Those were the best of times. Best thing bout Denny's... never had to break down the kitchen on a daily basis. I can' t imagine having to do that much cleaning everyday.

[REMIREZZ]

I think Waffle House rightfully deserves its own episode

[javitije]

I love these restaurant based episodes. I find something fascinating about talking about the restaurant industry, their operations, their margins, etc.

[danidejaneiro]

I’ve always said that I’m not that bothered about visiting USA for its tourist attractions like Statue or Liberty or Hollywood, but I would love to eat my way across that country: pancakes, fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs - it all looks soooo freakin good 🤤

[mittens]

I'm still confused as to how cracker barrel is a diner. This video was great and very interesting! I was surprised to see cracker barrel included. As you mentioned, they aren't open late, they source ingredients using a different model, they serve alcohol, they are half retail store, there are so many ways they differ from diners. I am wondering what led you to include them in this diner based essay?

[idt]

I'm not a cheese person but I love a ham, cheese and onion omelet with hash browns and toast. For years I tried duplicating the taste and couldnt do it no matter which cheddar cheese I used. And then one day when I had the craving for an omelet, the only 'cheese' in the fridge was Kraft singles. The first bite was like angels singing. Who knew the cheapest, most disgusting cheese food was the taste I needed?!