The American restaurant chain known as Denny's plans to close 150 of its restaurants over the next year while reducing its menu options and considering changes to its famous 24/7 operating schedule.
Denny's announced the closures during its earnings conference on Tuesday, saying it would close 50 of its 1,375 stores in the U.S., or about one-tenth of them, by the end of 2024. The company said “underperforming restaurants” were weighing on overall revenue. around ABC13:
Denny's is targeting “underperforming restaurants” that are weighing on its financial performance, said Steve Dunn, Denny's executive vice president and chief global development officer. Affected areas are areas that are either too old to be renovated or have become unprofitable.
The chain, known for never closing its doors, is also making significant concessions to its franchisees regarding the requirement to remain open 24/7. Denny's is relaxing its 24-hour operating requirements for franchises, as about a quarter of its restaurants have not returned to 24-hour operation since the pandemic.
Denny's joins a broader trend of reducing restaurant hours since the pandemic. Major changes in customer behavior, such as eating dinner earlier and drinking less alcohol late at night, are preventing a return to pre-pandemic patterns. Rising labor and food costs are forcing restaurants to close earlier.
Denny's also plans to reduce its menu from 97 items to 46 items, and the company noted that adults are not ordering from the children's menu to save money.
In June, popular fish taco chain Rubio's Coastal Grill closed 48 locations in California, citing “increased costs of doing business.” Hooters restaurants followed suit, closing dozens of locations. In May, Red Lobster closed more than 100 underperforming stores in the United States. The closings come after Breitbart News recently reported that fast food prices are rising due to inflation under President Joe Biden's administration.
“Fast food inflation has had disparate effects across racial and ethnic groups because of different levels of fast food consumption,” the report said. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 42.4 percent of non-Hispanic black adults consume fast food. compared 37.6 percent of non-Hispanic white adults, 35.5 percent of Hispanic adults, and 30.6 percent of Asian adults. ”
“Rising prices of popular foods could pose a political problem for Biden: 30 percent of Black men and 11 percent of Black women plan to vote for former President Donald Trump. wall street journal “Public opinion polls show a dramatic increase since 2020,” he added.
