Published: March 16, 2010
Denny's Selected as Full Service Operator of Choice for Pilot Travel Centers
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Denny's Corporation (Nasdaq:DENN) today announced that it has been
selected as the full-service restaurant operator of choice for Pilot
Travel Centers LLC ("Pilot" ), one of the nation's largest retail
operators of travel centers catering to the professional driver and
traveling motorist in 41 states with over 300 retail interstate
properties. Pilot is in the process of merging with Flying J Travel
Centers ("Flying J" ), subject to final approval by the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC).
Up to 140 Flying J Travel Centers across North America could have their
full-service restaurants converted to Denny's. Denny's expects to begin
the Flying J conversions in the second quarter of 2010 and to have a
majority of the conversions completed by year end. On an annualized
basis these conversions are expected to add an estimated 7% to 8% to
Denny's system-wide sales. Denny's franchisees will convert and operate
most of the Flying J locations with the Company planning to convert and
operate approximately fifteen of the restaurants. As previously
communicated the capital outlay is expected to be approximately $525,000
per conversion. The parties expect existing employees will generally
remain in place.
Pilot and Denny's have identified 50 existing and proposed Pilot Travel
Centers as potential Denny's locations. These new travel centers and
conversion opportunities will occur over the next several years as Pilot
resumes its normal development pipeline.
Commenting on the potential venture, Nelson Marchioli, CEO of Denny's
said: "This is a meaningful opportunity for Denny's to expand the
Denny's brand and provide further development options for our
franchisees. Based on the success of our seven existing Pilot locations
and four Flying J conversions, we expect this agreement will truly add
long-term value for the Company, its shareholders and franchisees. We
value the relationship we have developed with Pilot, and we have
demonstrated that Denny's enhances the experience for Pilot's existing
customers. The combination of our two brands is a natural fit and the
performance of our initial locations has exceeded expectations.
Developing restaurants along our nation's highways has always been an
important part of Denny's heritage, and this relationship represents the
culmination of many years of work."
Jimmy Haslam, CEO of Pilot, said: "We are very excited to grow our
partnership with Denny's restaurants. We believe that the success of the
concept is proven based on the results of the conversions already
completed and we look forward to rapidly expanding the conversions. By
aligning our brands, our mutual focus on quality and our commitment to
satisfying customers, we believe this will result in a great opportunity
to better service the traveling public. We look forward to building on
this relationship with Denny's and their leadership team."
About Pilot
Pilot Travel Centers LLC is one of the nation's largest retail operators
of Travel Centers, catering to the professional driver and traveling
motorist in 41 states with over 300 retail interstate properties. The
company is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, employs 13,000
nation-wide and is held in a partnership between Pilot Corporation,
wholly owned by the Haslam family, and Propeller Corporation, wholly
owned by the funds advised by CVC Capital Partners, a leading global
private equity firm.
About Denny's
Denny's is one of America's largest full-service family restaurant
chains, consisting of 1,318 franchised and licensed units and 233
company-owned units, with operations in the United States, Canada, Costa
Rica, Guam, Mexico, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. For further information
on Denny's, including news releases, links to SEC filings and other
financial information, please visit the Denny's investor relations
website.
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The Company urges caution in considering its current trends and any
outlook on earnings disclosed in this press release. In addition,
certain matters discussed in this release may constitute forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual performance
of Denny's Corporation, its subsidiaries and underlying restaurants to
be materially different from the performance indicated or implied by
such statements. Words such as "expects" , "anticipates" ,
"believes" , "intends" , "plans" , "hopes" , and variations of such words
and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. Except as may be required by law, the Company
expressly disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this
release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Factors
that could cause actual performance to differ materially from the
performance indicated by these forward-looking statements include, among
others: the competitive pressures from within the restaurant
industry; the level of success of the Company's strategic and operating
initiatives, advertising and promotional efforts; adverse publicity;
changes in business strategy or development plans; terms and
availability of capital; regional weather conditions; overall changes in
the general economy, particularly at the retail level; political
environment (including acts of war and terrorism); and other factors
from time to time set forth in the Company's SEC reports, including but
not limited to the discussion in Management's Discussion and Analysis
and the risks identified in Item 1A. Risk Factors contained in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30,
2009 (and in the Company's subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q).
This communication may be deemed a "solicitation" under the rules of
the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with Denny's
Corporation's 2010 annual meeting of stockholders. Denny's will
be filing a proxy statement with the SEC in connection with the
solicitation of proxies for its 2010 annual meeting of stockholders. Stockholders
are strongly advised to read Denny's 2010 proxy statement when it
becomes available because it will contain important information. Stockholders
will be able to obtain copies of Denny's 2010 proxy statement and other
documents filed by Denny's with the SEC in connection with its 2010
annual meeting of stockholders at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov
or at the Investor Relations section of Denny's website at www.dennys.com.
Detailed information regarding the names, affiliations and interests
of individuals who may be deemed participants in the solicitation of
proxies from stockholders in connection with Denny's Corporation's 2010
annual meeting of stockholders is available on a Schedule 14A filed with
the SEC on April 13, 2009, and on a Form 8-K filed with the SEC on
February 1, 2010.

Denny's Corporation
Investor Contact: Enrique Mayor-Mora,
877-784-7167
or
News Media Contact: Cori Rice, 305-443-5454
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