VILLAGE INN RESTAURANTS ANNOUNCES WANDA WILES AS ITS NEW DIRECTOR OF FRANCHISE OPERATIONS (5/01)

Village Inn, a family-dining Restaurant chain with more than 220 locations throughout the Rocky Mountain region, Midwest, Southwest and Florida, recently named Wanda Wiles director of Franchise operations. In her new Denver-based position, Wiles will be responsible for promoting the Village Inn operating system and providing field support and ongoing franchise consultant training and development.

Wiles has been with Village Inn for 16 years, starting as an hourly crew member in Omaha, Neb. During her tenure with the company, she has held various positions including general manager, manager of training for Village Inn company and franchise restaurant openings, manager of franchise training, and, for the last five years, franchise consultant.

Village Inn recently launched the most aggressive expansion plan in its 43-year history, targeting new multi-unit development in Indiana, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Wiles' years of exposure to Village Inn corporate and franchise operations will prove to be an invaluable asset in pursuing the company's growth objectives, according to Frank Scherer, vice president of Village Inn Development.

"Wanda's experience at all levels of Village Inn restaurant operations will be a tremendous asset to our organization in that she can relate first-hand knowledge of situations in any given area of our business. In particular, her background in training and assisting with the opening of new restaurants will strengthen our franchise system as we bring in new franchisees and assist existing franchisees in developing additional units," Scherer said.

About Village Inn

Village Inn first opened in Denver, Colo., in 1958. Today, there are more than 220 Village Inn restaurants nationwide, including 116 franchise locations, serving great-tasting, home-style meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Village Inn follows a simple recipe for success: Provide "Good Food...Good Feelings^®" at a reasonable price in a relaxing atmosphere. Customers are attracted to the contemporary exterior design and an inviting interior that includes welcoming lobbies, highlighted by tempting bakery displays. Each Village Inn location offers a delicious menu of home-style fare, including signature breakfast foods - such as mouth-watering three-egg omelets, made-from-scratch buttermilk pancakes and specialty Skillets - as well as lunch and dinner selections, unlimited hot coffee refills and a wide variety of delicious pies, all served throughout the day. Village Inn franchisees benefit from the company's market leadership and nearly half a century of experience, as well as Village Inn's proven business model, increasingly familiar brand name and consistently refined operating system.

Village Inn is a division of Denver-based VICORP Restaurants, Inc., operator and franchisor of more than 370 mid-scale family-dining restaurants under the Village Inn and Bakers Square names. Village Inn has prime markets available for development and is eager to award Franchises to the right candidates.