Texarkana Among 1300+ Denny’s Locations Sold for $620 Million

Up until I read this story, my heart had been a little sad for Denny's, a restaurant chain I literally grew up eating in around the Dallas-Ft Worth Metroplex. In recent years, we kept hearing story after story about underperforming Denny's locations shutting their doors.

While trimming the bad stores is a given in any business, I was naturally concerned that my local Denny's, here in Texarkana, would be one of those losses.

Why was I concerned for my Texarkana Denny's?

A few years ago, my wife and I noticed that the bacon at Denny's had lost its flavor, and it had nothing to do with the "flu"; this happened before we knew "that flu" even existed. I'm not sure how you create no-taste pork, but it happened. Meh, not that big a deal, everything else was still pretty terrific. Then a year or so ago, it happened...

No! Not the hashbrowns!

Yep, they changed the HASHBROWNS! I thought "that was it", the beginning of the end of America's (and my) favorite breakfast spot. Those golden brown, crispy outside, and still tender in the middle little potato shreds had suddenly, and without warning, turned into these nasty, dry, no-flavor cardboard shreds that I wouldn't feed a cat. No self-respecting cat would eat them. While I have been back a few times since that change, not many. The only way you can choke those down is with ketchup.

Good News America - New Ownership

Why is that good news? Because someone out there still believes that the name "Denny's" is a viable restaurant chain, and capable of feeding American hungry travellers and breakfast fans everywhere. The entire thing has been sold to a group of private equity firms in a deal valued at about $620 million. The sale includes all 1,341 locations, marking the company’s transition from public to private ownership.

The buyers are Treville Capital, TriArtisan Capital Advisors, and Yadav Enterprises, and they plan to revitalize the struggling brand. Rather than closing more restaurants, they intend to open around 50 new locations next year. The new ownership is also expected to streamline operations by trimming the menu, improving consistency across locations, and closing underperforming stores.

READ MORE: Denny's Restaurants Sell for $620 Million, Look To Improve

I'm Going To Do My Part For T-Town

Did you see it? That phrase showed up again: "closing underperforming stores". I don't know if our Texarkana store is in any jeopardy or not, but I'm going to do my part, and you can help if you want. If you consider Denny's to be "comfort food" from your youth, try to hit them up a little more often. Maybe we'll get to keep ours, and the new owners will get everything back up to expectations.

Have you tried that burger with the fried egg on it? I love it... don't get it with the hashbrowns, though, at least not right now. Good luck, Denny's, I'm pulling for you!

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