Denny's to close 150 restaurant locations

Denny’s Corporation will close 150 of its Denny's restaurants.

The company, which owns the Denny’s and Keke’s Breakfast Cafe chains, said those Denny’s locations will close by the end of 2025.

Dozens of those 150 restaurants will close this year, according to an investor day presentation published Tuesday by the company.

Other domestic Denny’s locations will undergo "rehabilitation" through various strategies, including their potential acquisition by "stronger operators," according to the investor day presentation.

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The company said it decided to pursue such measures after conducting an assessment of domestic restaurants. 

Chief Global Development Officer Steve Dunn said what Denny’s Corporation saw in the bottom quintile was "traffic shifts" and "convenience shifts," among other observations. Some of the restaurants "can be very old," he noted. 

Denny’s operated 1,525 restaurants around the world at the end of September.

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Denny’s Corporation said in its investor day presentation that "by closing lower volume restaurants and opening higher volume restaurants, the overall health of the brand is improving and will result in higher AUVs [average unit volumes] and net unit growth in the future."

The company’s expectations for 2024 include opening 30-40 restaurants across its two brands "with a consolidated net decline of 45 to 55." Twelve to 16 of the openings will be Keke’s locations, it said.

There were 61 Keke’s restaurants in operation at the end of September.

Denny’s Corporation held its investor day the same day it released its third-quarter financial results.

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During the quarter, the company brought in $111.76 million in operating revenue, a 2.1% decline from the same three-month period last year. Its net income, meanwhile, narrowed to $6.52 million, it reported.

It projected that it would see adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $81-84 million for the full year. It had previously expected $83-87 million.