SPARTANBURG, S.C., Jan. 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Denny's, Inc. (Nasdaq:DENN), the world's largest full-service family dining chain, based on the number of restaurants, today announced that it has signed a franchise agreement with Advance Investment LLC, an affiliated entity of Food Quest Restaurant Management LLC, for the development of 30 new Denny's restaurants in nine countries in the Middle East over the next ten years.
Advance Investment LLC, with management support of Food Quest, has exclusive rights to open restaurants in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan and expects the first restaurant will open in the United Arab Emirates in 2015.
John Miller, Denny's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are making significant progress expanding the Denny's brand internationally with the right franchise partners and this is further evidence of our momentum. This significant development agreement is our first major expansion in the Middle East and expands Denny's unopened international pipeline to over 60 restaurants."
Fareed Bilbeisi, Chairman of the Board of Food Quest, commented, "We are proud to be associated with the Denny's brand and look forward to developing it in the Middle East. This is a great addition to the management portfolio of Food Quest covering the family dining segment."
Denny's Senior Vice President of Global Development, Steve Dunn, added, "We are proud to say Denny's is the largest family-dining chain across the globe and it is an honor to have the opportunity to work with such a great franchise partner as Advance Investment LLC leading the way for Denny's in the Middle East."
Denny's opened its first international restaurant in 1966 in Acapulco, Mexico and has since expanded its footprint to 11 countries and U.S. territories, including 100 locations in Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guam, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico and New Zealand. As the company approaches 1,700 restaurants worldwide, Denny's is providing guests around the globe with the promise of everyday value and craveable, indulgent menu items served in a friendly and inviting atmosphere. Together with its talented and committed franchisees, the Company plans for continued international expansion to bring "America's Diner" to new locations across the globe.
About Denny's
Denny's is the franchisor and operator of one of America's largest franchised full-service restaurant chains, based on the number of restaurants. Denny's currently has almost 1,700 franchised, licensed, and company restaurants around the world with combined sales of $2.5 billion including 100 international restaurants in Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Guam, Curaçao, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Chile, El Salvador and New Zealand. 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 at investor.dennys.com.
About Advance Investment LLC / Food Quest Restaurant Management LLC
Food Quest Restaurant Management LLC, providing management support to Advance Investment LLC for Denny's development, is a food service master franchise investor and operator based in the Middle East. Food Quest operates across the full development spectrum, from financial investment and controls, to human resources and operations management, to site development, branding, marketing, promotions and sub-franchising. Current brands under management and development include Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK), Zambar Coastal Kitchen, Punjab Grill & Asia7.
Forward Looking Statements
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, which reflect its best judgment based on factors currently known, are intended to speak only as of the date such statements are made and 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 and other filings, 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 26, 2012 (and in the Company's subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q).