Denny’s Corp. battles for its future

Some shareholders want leadership change

APRIL 25, 2010 1:10 p.m. (0)

Denny’s Corp. is in a fierce struggle with dissident shareholders who want to oust the chief executive officer, the chairwoman and former chairman from the board of the Spartanburg restaurant chain.

Both sides insist their interest is in preserving Denny’s “iconic” status as having grown from a donut shop in California 57 years ago to America’s No. 1 eatery only to fall on hard times in the 1990s.

They agree on little else.  Continue reading...

 

Denny's board re-elected

Despite some shareholder complaints, leadership remains

MAY 25, 2010 10:36 a.m. (0)

9039 Fairforest Road

Shareholders supported Denny’s Corp. management and existing board in a nasty and costly proxy war over a challenge to three key directors of the Spartanburg restaurant chain.

A group of dissident shareholders, who acquired 7 percent of Denny’s stock between September and April, sought unsuccessfully to oust board Chairwoman Debra Smithart-Oglesby, President and CEO Nelson J. Marchioli and past chairman Robert E. Marks.  Continue reading...

 

Denny's CEO replaced

JUNE 10, 2010 10:04 a.m. (1)

Denny’s Corp. replaced Nelson Marchioli as president and chief executive officer less than three weeks after his contract apparently renewed for a year and after his leadership was derided by dissident shareholders in a proxy battle.

A spokesman for the company would not say whether Marchioli, who had led Denny’s since 2001, resigned voluntarily or was forced out.  He is the third high-ranking executive to leave the company since December.  Continue reading...

 

Denny's profits slump

AUGUST 9, 2010 10:07 a.m. (0)

Spartanburg-based Denny’s Corp. net income fell 42 percent in the second quarter, the company reported.

Net income for the quarter was reported at $5.46 million, according to a company statement. Same store sales were down 6.2 percent and 5.9 percent at franchise locations.  Continue reading...

 

Denny's CEO questions settlement

AUGUST 10, 2010 11:26 a.m. (0)

Nelson Marchioli, who lost his job as chief executive officer of Denny’s Corp. under unexplained circumstances, has asked for arbitration “with respect to the settlement of any outstanding obligations related to his departure.”

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it could be responsible for a severance payment to Marchioli of anywhere from $800,000 to $3.2 million.

Without explaining the circumstances, the Spartanburg restaurant chain announced on June 8 that Debra Smithart-Oglesby, chairman of the board, had been appointed interim CEO succeeding Marchioli, effective that date.  Continue reading...

 

Denny's income drops

AUGUST 27, 2010 7:08 a.m. (0)

Spartanburg-based Denny’s Corp. net income fell 42 percent in the second quarter, the company reported.  Continue reading...

 

Orders up

Denny's focuses on what's new and improving

NOVEMBER 14, 2010 2:37 p.m. (0)

After some tough years, Denny’s, the iconic Spartanburg restaurant chain,  is experiencing upward trends.

Guest traffic is up, new restaurants are opening in travel centers and on college campuses, a café-style Denny’s is being tested, new leadership is falling into place, profits are edging up and the stock price is rebounding.

A lingering dispute with Nelson Marchioli, who was dumped in June as chief executive officer and from the board, was settled, although at a price.  Continue reading...

 

The Crate Debate

Denny's is the latest restaurant chain to denounce a controversial pig-breeding technique

MAY 31, 2012 9:59 a.m. (0)

The last time you sat down for a Moons Over My Hammy omelet or a Sausage Slam at Denny’s, there’s a good chance that the food came from a pig born of a sow that had been confined, for most of her adult life, to a crate about the size of the booth you were sitting in. But the Spartanburg-based restaurant chain hopes to change that soon.

In May, Denny’s announced that it will work with its suppliers to eliminate the practice of confining pregnant sows in gestation crates (also called sow stalls), according to a statement issued by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Gestation crates are a common part of large-scale pig production in industrialized agriculture (“factory farms” to their detractors).  Continue reading...