KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was a landmark off of Interstate 70, and before the charred sides, it was a pit stop after a good time at our Kansas City staples.
Rose Clopton was the reason that Denny’s off of Stadium Way was well managed.
Last week after closing, a fire devastated Clopton’s Denny’s in the early morning hours. The Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department said no one was injured, but they are still trying to figure out the cause.
Clopton got the call early in the morning.
“That my store was in flames,” she said.
Rose Clopton has worked with Denny’s on Blue Ridge Cutoff for 42 years.
Clopton started working as a sever at Denny's in 1981 and has continued working there as a general manager since her promotion in 1994.
Clopton said in her 42-year career at Denny’s, which is a short walk from the Royals' and Chiefs' stadiums, her Denny’s has seen thousands and thousands of faces.
“It was a diner. You could come in and you could be with your family," Clopton said. "And that’s what it was, it was a family, so I lost my family."
From concerts to sports games to serving 180 people in one hour, so many would come into Denny’s for another kind of grand slam.
“The Chiefs games, the Royals games, the freaking concerts are the ones that got me,” Clopton said. “I had to work all day, turn around and go back so we could pull it off.”
Clopton was three years short of retiring in the building she built her career at.
“I wanted it to end there, me and her. I always called her, her,” she said.
Clopton said she wanted to share the hard-working people and their stories behind the stadium Denny’s.
“I gave up birthdays, Christmas, I gave up Thanksgiving,” she said. “My kids would tell you, Denny’s came first in my life. It was something I loved to do, my passion. I had a passion for it.”
“I love people. I wanted people to know that they could come to Denny’s stadium and feel like they were home,” she said.
A job not without its perks, and many discreet famous visitors.
“I used to hide Neil Smith and Derrick Thomas. Wow, you bring up some memories,” she laughed.
Clopton made sure no one bothered them.
“He used to keep the newspaper really close to his face,” she said. “I think that’s why I never left. The excitement of meeting these people, taking care of everybody, I think that’s why I stayed the adventure of working at Denny’s.”
Clopton said former employees are now being relocated to another Denny’s diner. Clopton said she’s not ready to go back.
“Me? I’m still grieving. Me? It’s going to take me a minute,” she said. “The grand slam, that’s what it was, hunny. Two eggs, two bacon, two sausages and pancakes. That was how it started Denny’s diner, that’s how it started.”
Clopton’s son started a GoFundMe for his mother during her time away from work.
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