threads of the sixties
Late 1960's & Early 1970's
1970s Denny’s restaurant waitress uniform
Material: polyester
Donor's story
Stephanie V. Satter (age 81), resident of Bremerton, WA.
Stephanie Satter was active with the Puget Sound Genealogical Society in 1994. She served on the board of the Puget Rental Owners Association in 1998. In 2010 she was a member of the Peninsula Wilderness Club. She and husband Richard were 2021 financial supporters of the Kitsap Humane Society and the Greater Peninsula Conservancy. In 2014 they were also financial supporters of the West Sound Technical Skills Center Foundation. In 2019 she and Richard were financial supporters of the Seattle Women’s Chorus. The donor did not work at Denny’s and it is unknown which of the donor’s relatives wore this dress when she waitressed at Denny’s.
Description
Waitress uniform dress from Denny’s restaurant, size 10, with accompanying detached orange polyester neck scarf one yard long. Dress is unlined, A-line shaped, short sleeves, polyester one-piece knee-length. Deep slash pockets on both sides. Dress is medium brown with an insert down the front and back bearing a tiny pattern of orange, brown and white houndstooth checks. Back metal zipper with brown side panels and houndstooth checks on the front and back. Dark brown decorative string tie at neck. (The hostesses uniform dress differentiated from the waitress dress and featured the tiny orange-brown-white houndstooth checks down the side panels and the center panel was brown.)
Denny's context
Originally opened as a coffee shop with the name Danny’s Donuts in Lakewood, Los Angeles County, California, Denny’s was known for serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner 24 hours every day, even on holidays. In 1961, Denny’s Coffee Shops was renamed Denny’s and started franchising its restaurants in 1963. Many Denny’s restaurants were located near freeway exits, bars, and in-service areas which ensured success. In 1977, the Atlanta, Georgia Denny’s menu introduced the Grand Slam as a homage to baseball slugger Hank Aaron and it became their most popular meal nationwide. Denny’s continued to expand, and by 1981, there were over 1,000 restaurants in all fifty U.S. states. As of 2016 there were 1,600 Denny’s restaurants and most are franchisee-owned. Current Bremerton Denny’s location: 5004 Kitsap Way
