Denny's wants to serve customers a new menu – and a new narrative.
An all-too-familiar development made the news earlier this week when a franchisee closed five Denny's restaurants in Minnesota and Wisconsin, first reported by Minnesota news site Bring Me the News. In a note posted on the door of one of the restaurants, the franchisee said it planned to file for bankruptcy.
But there's more to the story, according to Denny's. The restaurant chain, founded in 1953 as a California doughnut and coffee shop, is looking beyond the public plotline of restaurant closings that has haunted the company for nearly two years. In October 2024, Stephen Dunn, the company's then-chief global development officer told investors Denny's would close 150 locations by the end of 2025. Then in February 2025, then-chief financial officer Robert Verostek said additional restaurant closures would happen by year's end.
But a new story arc began in November 2025, when Denny's announced it would become privately held after being acquired by private equity firm TriArtisan Capital Advisors, investment management company Treville Capital Group and restaurant company Yadav Enterprises, Inc. The deal, which was valued at $620 million at the time and became official in January, also included 78 locations of the Keke's Breakfast Cafe brand.
The buyers know the restaurant business. TriArtisan's holdings include P.F. Chang's and TGI Fridays, while Yadav Enterprises owns more than 300 restaurants – a collection of Jack in the Box, El Pollo Loco, Corner Bakery Cafe, Sizzler and TGI Fridays restaurants, in addition to some Denny's locations it already owned.