Denny Closures
Denny’s is planning to close more restaurants in 2025 than they originally thought. Their financial officer, Robert Verostek, announced on February 12th that they expect to close between 70 and 90 restaurants this year.
He mentioned that some of these closures are because leases are running out.
Last October, Denny’s said they’d be closing about 150 restaurants over the next year. They closed 88 last year. If they close the maximum of 90 this year, that means they’ll have closed almost 30 more than they originally planned.
Denny’s CEO, Kelli Valade, explained that it’s normal for older restaurants to see changes in their customer base over time. She said that closing some of the less busy restaurants will help franchisees have more money, which they can then use to improve things, like remodeling their restaurants to attract more customers.
Denny’s executives said that rising prices are changing how people spend money. Inflation went up by 3% in January, which was more than experts predicted. The company’s financial officer also mentioned that bad weather, like the California wildfires and big snowstorms, has affected how much people are eating.
Denny’s financial officer also said that major weather events, like the recent California wildfires and big snowstorms across the country, have affected how much people are spending. He added that there’s just a lot of uncertainty right now.
Denny’s financial officer, Verostek, acknowledges that the worries about things like inflation and weather are understandable. However, he says Denny’s is working closely with its suppliers to make sure there are as few problems as possible. Denny’s also stated that they can’t give out specific information about which restaurants are closing. The company, which started in 1953, currently has over 1,500 restaurants across the US, according to their website.
