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About half of the closures will happen this year and the rest in
2025, the company said during a meeting with investors Tuesday.
The locations weren’t revealed, but the restaurants represent
around 10% of Denny’s total.
Stephen Dunn, Denny’s executive vice president and chief global
development officer, said in some cases, the restaurants are no
longer in good locations.
“Some of these restaurants can be very old,” Dunn said during
the investor meeting. “You think of a 70-year-old plus brand. We
have a lot of restaurants that have been out there for a very
long time.”
Others saw traffic shifts during the pandemic that have yet to
reverse, he said.
On Tuesday, Denny's reported its fifth straight quarter of
year-over-year declines in same-store sales, which are sales at
locations open at least a year.
Restaurant inflation is outpacing grocery price inflation, which
makes it harder for some customers to justify eating out,
Denny's said. And when they do eat out, they often head to
fast-casual brands like Chipotle or fast-food chains. Denny's
said family dining — the category in which it competes — has
lost the most customer traffic since 2020.
Still, Denny's said it has bright spots, including a value menu
that lifted sales in its most recent quarter and growing sales
of its delivery-only brands like Banda Burrito.
Shares in Denny's Corp., which is based in Spartanburg, South
Carolina, tumbled almost 18% on Tuesday.
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