Denny’s revealed that it has pulled back on a privilege that customers love, a move that it now claims has helped improve profits. The diner has confirmed in a recent earnings call that it has “simplified” its menu by moving away from giving customers the ability to customize their orders, a change that it claims happened in November.

“Specifically, along with new product innovation, we simplified the menu layout while minimizing customizations and the Build Your Own categories on the menu,” said Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade on a recent earnings call. “This not only allowed us to highlight our most popular and most craveable items, but it simplified operations without any impact on the guests or to guests preferences.”

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Valade also revealed that the change has led to “margin improvements” by highlighting the “most profitable items” and “guest favorites.”

Denny’s made $54 million in company restaurant sales in the fourth quarter of 2023, which is a small increase from the $53.2 million it made the previous quarter. 

Though, in Denny’s fourth-quarter earnings report for 2023, the company reveals that its restaurant operating margin was “$5.4 million, or 10.0% of company restaurant sales.” This is a decrease from the $7.3 million, or 13.7% it reported in the quarter before. 

The last time Denny’s updated its menu was in November last year where it introduced nine permanent new menu options, but didn’t indicate in the announcement that it minimized consumers’ options to customize their orders.

Denny’s did immediately respond to TheStreet’s request for comment on what customizable menu options were specifically removed.

A quick look at Denny’s menu online shows that it currently allows customers to build their own omelette and “Grand Slam” breakfast plate which can be made with four items. Certain options such as how eggs and steak are cooked can also still be customized. 

But some of the new menu options it launched in November, such as its Strawberry Stuffed French Toast and Sweet Cream Cold Brew doesn’t have customization options to select from online like it has for other items. 

The move from Denny’s comes after Subway, which is famous for its order customization options and arguably started the trend among other restaurant chains, scaled back on its over 60-year-old business model of “create your own.” In 2022, the fast-food chain unveiled its Subway Series menu which includes 12 sandwiches that can only be “ordered by name or number.”

“Instead of picking your ingredients and toppings throughout the ordering process, guests simply say a sandwich number or name and six-inch or footlong,” read the press release announcing the new menu.

Food order customizations have attracted some controversy in recent years as restaurant workers have lashed out on social media, expressing their frustration with fulfilling orders with special requests.

In a TikTok video that went viral last year, a customer showed a sign that was posted in a Waffle House location in Georgia that read: “Order from the menu we are not making anything you saw on TikTok!!”

The sign was seemingly responding to a trend on TikTok where customers were ordering a viral customized Waffle House sandwich order.

At Starbucks, employees have spoken out against order customizations in recent years where one former employee claimed that “the modifications are out of control” when speaking with Business Insider in 2021.

Starbucks employees have also admonished customers for following viral TikTok hacks. One employee even mentioned in a viral TikTok that was posted in 2022 that it could result in a waste of product and can hold up lines as orders are being customized.

Restaurants scaling back on order customization could generate a negative response from consumers. According to a 2017 survey from consulting company Technomic, 61% of the consumers that were polled say that customizing their food order is important to them when they visit a fast-food location. Also, 62% have the same belief for fast-casual restaurants. 

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