The Denny’s restaurant where Nvidia was born is bringing back a plaque commemorating the chipmaker’s founding after quietly removing it following reports surrounding CEO Jensen Huang’s departure from the company.
The San Jose restaurant, which witnessed the early conversations that led to the creation of Nvidia, had taken down the commemorative plaque that celebrated Huang and his co-founders. The decision came after reports about Huang’s alleged extramarital relationships attracted attention following his reported exit from the company.
Denny’s has now reversed that decision. In a statement to NBC News on Friday, November 13, the South Carolina-based restaurant chain confirmed that the plaque would be put back.
“We’re reinstalling the plaque recognizing the conversations at Denny’s that helped launch NVIDIA,” the company said.
The plaque was unveiled on September 26, 2023, during a ceremony attended by Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade and Huang. It marked the booth where Huang, along with co-founders Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, first discussed the idea of building Nvidia in 1993. Their conversations reportedly took place over unlimited coffee and pancakes.
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Denny’s also highlighted Huang’s early connection with the restaurant chain. Before becoming one of the most influential figures in the technology industry, Huang worked as a dishwasher at a Denny’s restaurant in Portland, Oregon, when he was 15. He later worked as a busboy and waiter.
“Jensen Huang started at Denny’s as a dishwasher. Years later, he and his co-founders gathered in one of our booths to discuss the idea that became NVIDIA. The plaque commemorates that shared history,” the company said.
“America’s Diner has long been a place where people and ideas come together, and that history deserves to be preserved,” it added.
Reflecting on his early working years, Huang had said in a 2023 Nvidia blog post, “I was a dishwasher, I was a busboy, I waited tables,”
“No one can carry more coffee cups than I can.”
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The plaque’s removal came amid growing controversy surrounding Huang’s personal life. A New York Times report detailed allegations of an affair with Alice Huang, a businesswoman suspected by U.S. intelligence of having links to Chinese intelligence. Huang subsequently acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife, Lori, with whom he has been married for more than four decades.
The reports also brought attention to alleged relationships with women working at Nvidia. The New York Times named Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice president of healthcare, in its reporting. Separately, Reuters reported an intimate relationship between Huang and another unnamed Nvidia employee.
While Denny’s has not explained why the plaque was initially removed, its decision to reinstall it brings the focus back to the restaurant’s role in Nvidia’s early history, even as its former CEO faces intense scrutiny over his personal life.