Developed by Denny's franchisee Romero Brown, the idea started percolating in 1996 as part of a master plan with the help of the Northland Pioneer College Small Business Development Center. The plan called for a motel and a Denny's restaurant to be built on four acres in the Window Rock area of the Navajo Nation, said Brown, a Navajo entrepreneur and native of the Cottonwood area. "The Denny's opening fulfills a longtime family dream to build right here in Window Rock," said Brown, president of Dine' Bi Ghan Development Inc.

Located along Arizona 264 in St. Michaels, the restaurant was designed to bring jobs and opportunities to the largest Indian reservation in the US. The reservation has a population of 200,000 and a 50% unemployment rate. Situated adjacent to the Navajoland Days Inn, which Brown also owns and operates, the 160-seat restaurant has added about 100 jobs to the community.