Denny's Aggressively Moves Ahead With Franchising Strategy

Denny's proved to be a hot Franchising commodity last year with 232 newly franchised restaurants in 2000.

The company reports a record 84 new Franchise Restaurant openings, and 148 company restaurants were sold to franchisees.

The new franchise restaurants include the opening of the first Denny's in Rhode Island on December 26, 2000, which gives the national chain a presence in all 50 U.S. states.

"Denny's has built more restaurants over the past four years than any other family dining restaurant brand, and we increased franchised restaurants by 15 percent in 2000 over the previous year as part of our strategy to shift to a more franchise-based system," said James W. Lyons, executive vice president of franchise and development for Denny's. "This unprecedented development has enabled us to gain momentum in existing markets across the country as well as expand into new markets."

At year-end, Denny's operated 1,822 restaurants; 736 were owned by the company; and 1,086 were operated through franchising and licensing.

"Denny's national brand awareness, 24-hour concept, and the strength of its menu, marketing and operations are reasons why we are excited to be a part of the Denny's system," said Dennis Malone, a Denny's franchise owner and chair of the independent Denny's Franchisee Association, representing 174 separate franchisees and approximately 720 franchise restaurants. "The Denny's Franchisee Association board and its members have a strong commitment to the brand, and we look forward to expanding through the purchase of company restaurants and development of new restaurants."

In conjunction with the new restaurant openings, Denny's has remodeled 237 restaurants in the Denny's Diner theme over the last two years. The diner theme was introduced in 1999 to dramatically differentiate Denny's from its competitors and capitalize on the brand's heritage as "America's Original Breakfast Diner."

Denny's is the nation's largest full-service family restaurant chain with more than 1,800 restaurants in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Singapore. Denny's is owned and operated by Advantica Restaurant Group, Inc., one of the largest restaurant companies in the United States.