Denny's removes plaque honoring the booth where Nvidia was founded
Summary
- The Denny's at 2484 Berryessa Drive in San Jose, California, displayed a plaque honoring the booth where Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993.
- An employee said the diner took the plaque down on the night of Nov. 12, 2026, the same morning Nvidia announced Huang's resignation.
- Huang spent five years at a Denny's as a dishwasher, busboy, and waiter before founding Nvidia and credits the diner with helping him break out of shyness.
- Denny's had marked its Nvidia ties with a 2025 breakfast special and a startup pitch contest, whose webpage appeared gone and whose continuation was unclear.
- Neither Denny's nor Nvidia answered questions about the plaque's removal.
Reactions
- Denny's head of corporate public relations Colton Grace said on Nov. 10, 2026, the company was 'working on our perspective,' and later said a statement was 'forthcoming.'
- The Denny's X account posted 'in the club shaking it somberly' on the morning Nvidia announced Huang's resignation.
- Denny's CEO Kelli Valade had said in 2025 that the company was 'deeply honored' to have played a role in Nvidia's origin story.
- Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment about the plaque's removal.
Timeline newest first
An employee said the San Jose Denny's removed the Nvidia plaque on the night of Nov. 12, 2026, and could not say who ordered it removed.
The Denny's roadside diner in Santa Clara, California, where Nvidia was born was reported to have taken down its sign honoring the company by Nov. 13, 2026.
Sources newest first
- Bay Area Denny's takes down plaque commemorating Jensen Huang
A San Jose Denny's took down the plaque honoring the booth where Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993, removing it the night of Nov. 12, 2026, the same morning Nvidia announced his resignation, an employee told SFGATE. SFGATE reports Huang's fall followed reports of infidelity with subordinates and a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy; Huang had also spent five years at the diner as a dishwasher, busboy, and waiter.
The Denny’s where Nvidia was born has already taken down the sign honoring the companyNBC News reports that the Denny's roadside diner in Santa Clara, California, where Nvidia was born has already taken down the sign honoring the company, a piece of Silicon Valley history that seemed to have disappeared just before the article's publication. A 2023 photo shows Denny's CEO Kelli Valade with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Background newest first
Just for Skeets and Giggles (11.14.26)substack.com· 4h
In a news roundup, Jay Kuo surveys the week after the 2026 election: votes still being counted, Democrats at 56 Senate seats, Lauren Boebert's loss in Colorado, and Trump's stalled press secretary search. He also covers Jensen Huang's Nvidia resignation, an FAA grounding that stranded tens of thousands, Stephen Miller's elevation to chief of staff, and a runaway corgi race.
Big Shareholders and 3,000 Nvidia Employees Want Jensen Huang Back247wallst.com· 6h
Omor Ibne Ehsan reports for 24/7 Wall St. that two big NVIDIA investors sent the board a letter asking for a slow, open CEO search after Jensen Huang's November 12 resignation, while a "Stand with Jensen" petition gathered over 55,000 signatures, including 3,574 self-described employees. NVIDIA stock fell about 27.56% over six months to $162.85, wiping out roughly $573 billion in market value in a week, with CFO Colette Kress serving as interim CEO ahead of the November 17 earnings report.
Judge in golf course case says inquiry into DOJ lawyers will proceedwashingtonpost.com· 6h
The Washington Post's developing-stories page reports that U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes said an inquiry into Justice Department lawyers' conduct in the East Potomac Golf Links case would proceed despite the department's objections, with a ruling expected Saturday on preservation groups' request to stop the course's closure. It also covers Microsoft's restoration of a global outage that hit hospitals and schools, two more measles deaths bringing the 2026 toll to at least 10, California's record marine heat wave, Elon Musk's call for Jensen Huang's reinstatement at Nvidia, and phone charging advice.
Microsoft says all services restored after global outageThe Washington Post's live-updates page follows the global Microsoft outage, which the company says has been fully restored, attributing it to a network upgrade rather than a cyberattack or AI, and which disrupted hospitals, schools, courts and Japanese traders forced onto fax. Other items cover California's record marine heat wave, a U.S. measles death toll of at least 10 in 2026, Jensen Huang's resignation over an alleged affair — drawing Elon Musk's support — Pope Leo XIV's Mass in Chiclayo, and Rear Adm. Brian Monahan's departure from Congress's physician office, plus tips on charging devices faster.
Jensen Huang’s spy scandal isn’t a one-off
sfstandard.com· 7h
In an opinion column, Roderick Jones argues Jensen Huang's resignation from Nvidia over an affair with an alleged Chinese spy reflects a wider security problem the AI industry does not yet grasp. He cites understaffed FBI counterintelligence squads and says companies need their own insider-risk programs to catch foreign interference.
Intel intercepts implicating Jensen Huang in affair sparked classified Rubio memo | CNN Politicscnn.com· 25h
CNN reports, citing sources, that US intelligence intercepted communications in the spring showing Megaspeed executive Alice Huang was having an affair with Jensen Huang, and that officials had her name unmasked before Marco Rubio circulated a classified memo warning senior officials about the relationship. Huang has resigned as NVIDIA CEO amid allegations of additional affairs, while officials disagree on evidence that Huang was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security, and Donald Trump calls the spying question unsettled.
Alleged espionage scandal and affair rocks Jensen Huang's world: What to know about the Nvidia CEOabcnews.com· 4d
Bill Hutchinson's ABC News explainer profiles Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, from his Taiwan upbringing and Denny's founding of the company to its $4 trillion rise, alongside an alleged espionage and affair scandal involving Chinese executive Alice Huang, whom China denies is a spy, and Huang's admission of infidelity to his wife Lori.
