Denny's free for all

POST FALLS - Breakfast for Steve Jensen was a grand slam on Tuesday.

The taste was great. The price and service? Even better.

Denny's restaurants in Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene joined other locations throughout the country to serve up free Grand Slam breakfasts from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. for customer appreciation.

"It's a hard day to be a chicken in America," said Post Falls' Jensen as he exited the packed restaurant with his wife, Jodi.

Dan Vose, general manager of the Post Falls Denny's, said his location served about 800 customers and 775 Grand Slams during the shift, slightly less than last year's event.

The manager of the Coeur d'Alene Denny's referred all questions on the promotion to the chain's public relations agency, which only had national statistics. About 2 million slams were served at more than 1,500 locations across the country.

Like many with a bargain in mind for their bellies, Post Falls' Bob Small acted on Super Bowl ads on the promotion.

"The food was really good and the service was excellent," Small said. "They were better organized than I thought they'd be considering the number of people."

Small said he got a seat "right away" when he went to the restaurant at 8 a.m. Others later only waited 10 to 15 minutes as friendly servers, donning T-shirts with "Great day to be an American; Tough day to be a chicken," methodically took care of smiling customers buzzing with conversation.

"I almost turned around and left when I saw the number of cars here," Small said, looking over the parking situation that overflowed onto Schneidmiller Avenue and adding that he's glad he stayed.

"More businesses should do this, especially during tough economic times."

Seniors Mamie Johnson and Alice Jenkins said they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

"It's just fantastic that they'd do such a thing," Johnson said. "Even though it was so packed, you didn't feel rushed."

Jenkins added: "It's a good place to eat anyway."

Tammey Maus, a waitress at the Post Falls location, said the shift went "really smooth."

"A lot of people were happy about it, and that made us happy," Maus said.

Maus said most servers made $80 to $100 in tips during the shift, which is down from last year's event.

"A lot of the girls broke well over $100 last year," she said. "I think a lot of people took advantage of the opportunity and didn't think to tip us, but we still made good money."

For customer Dorothy Walker, it was a trip down memory lane.

"Two dollars?" she said while looking over her bill with wide eyes. "I haven't had a breakfast like this since the '60s."

Customers included individuals going to work, young families, seniors and high school students. They were also given a booklet of Denny's coupons as part of their "reintroduction" to Denny's.

"We appreciate them and hope they come back," Vose said.