Dive Brief:
- Denny’s appointed Aaron Howard as chief operating officer, effective Tuesday, the company said in a press release.
- Howard has decades of experience in restaurant leadership and has worked at brands like CKE Restaurants, Cracker Barrel and RGS, parent company of O’Charley’s and 99 Restaurants.
- Howard joins as Denny's deploys a turnaround plan focused on new food innovation, value, catering, third-party growth, facilities modernization and improving traffic and restaurant execution, the company said.
Dive Insight:
Howard succeeds Christopher Bode, who was promoted to CEO in April, the same time Denny’s rolled out its turnaround strategy Project Grand Slam.
The chain has focused on improving operations following its $620 million sale to a group of private companies consisting of TriArtisan Capital, Yadav Enterprises and Treville Capital Group. Prior to going private, Denny’s suffered several consecutive quarters of same-store sales declines and closed dozens of restaurants.
Project Grand Slam aims to improve speed of service, discipline and accountability in areas that can strengthen profitability for franchisees and the brand, per the press release.
Howard will oversee operations across Denny’s franchise system, the company said. He has an operator’s mindset, Bode said in a statement, and an understanding of how team support and accountability is needed to drive performance.
“As we continue to strengthen value, relevance, profitable traffic and restaurant-level profitability, Aaron’s leadership will be critical to how we raise execution across the franchise system,” Bode said.
Howard most recently served as vice president at CKE Restaurants, but spent a bulk of his career in various leadership roles at Cracker Barrel for over 13 years and worked as a multi-unit leader at Wendy’s for over 15 years, per his LinkedIn profile.
“What attracted me to this role is the opportunity to get close to the restaurants, work with operators and teams, and help improve the execution guests feel every day,” Howard said in a statement. “Strong restaurants are built through consistency, discipline, and care. That is the work I am here to help drive.”
