Dive Brief:
- Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade will leave the company after being appointed CEO and president of the WFF in February, the non-profit organization said on its website Thursday. Valade will succeed Therese Gearhart, who is retiring.
- Valade has been at Denny’s since 2022, initially joining as CEO before adding the title of president a year later. Prior to Denny’s, she served for less than a year as CEO of Red Lobster. Valade also previously served as CEO of Black Box and held various positions at Brinker International.
- During Valade’s tenure at Denny’s, the chain posted single-digit same-store sales growth? in 2023, but faced declines in 2024 and 2025 as inflation led to a pullback in consumer spending.
Dive Insight:
Over the past five years, Denny’s posted mixed results, including the growth of its off-premise channel and virtual brands. It also faced a declining store count after the chain decided to shutter underperforming locations.
Valade led the company through a kitchen modernization initiative that centered on new equipment and a cloud-based point-of-sales system. The equipment included ovens that boosted efficiency and allowed the chain to add menu items like oven-baked lasagna.
Benefits from new menu innovations eroded heading into 2024 and 2025, when consumer focus shifted toward value. Last year, Denny’s brought back its $2, $4, $6, $8 menu, but it found customers were combining various elements of this menu to create lower-priced meals compared to combos and complex menu items. Instead, the brand turned toward combo Slams and other meal deals to maintain value while also building average check.
Last year, Denny’s also faced an uptick in store closures and activist investor activity. The chain eventually sold itself to a group of private investors for $620 million, with the deal closing earlier this month.
Denny’s said in an email that Rohit Manocha, who serves as executive chairman, and Anil Yadav, who serves as chairman, will oversee executive management.
“The leadership team will conduct a comprehensive search for a new leader of the organization, evaluating both internal and external candidates,” the company said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with Denny’s plan to replace Valade.
