FSR August 2023

DENNY’S RENAISSANCE

later. As an iconic 24/7 diner chain that’s been around since 1953 (origi nally called Danny’s Donuts), Denny’s has become something of a big sister to Keke’s, with an emphasis on ‘big’— Denny’s closed out the first quarter this year with 1,594 restaurants. Meanwhile, emerging breakfast eatery Keke’s has 54 locations open, including 46 fran chised units and eight company-oper ated stores. “Strategically, this is an amazing acquisition for us and a growth vehicle for us. But it's also really important that we keep the two brands distinct,” Valade notes. “So whatever touches the employ ees, whatever touches the guests is sep arate, and then we leverage our great model franchisor approach in shared services.” The company anticipates opening 35 to 45 restaurants this year, includ ing eight to 12 Keke’s. “That's a category that's really exciting right now, so we are really positioning that for some pretty aggressive growth,” she says. Florida

based Keke’s cafes are only open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., but its AUVs are com parable to Denny’s (just shy of $2 mil lion) and profit margins are in the upper teens to 20 percent. Luckily, Valade is no stranger to rapid growth. Prior to joining Denny’s, where she succeeded former CEO John Miller, she spent 22 years at Dallas based Brinker International. She joined as director of On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina under Miller, who was president at that time. In 2016, Valade was promoted to Brinker’s executive vice president and brand president of Chili’s Grill & Bar— the company’s first female brand presi dent four decades after being founded. “At that point is when I really just dug in to learn and fill any gaps, whether it was finance or leaning into development and real estate,” she says. “I also was, I think, known for raising my hand and being a little bit scrappy. If you gave me an assignment, whether it was inside HR at the time or even inside ops later, I

didn't necessarily color inside the lines— in a good way.” At Chili’s, she was responsible for more than 1,600 restaurants and estab lished a clear vision and bold strategies, such as helping the brand to simplify its menu and reduce the number of food offerings to speed up service. She also cultivated a purpose-driven, positive cul ture, like establishing a “Women Tak ing the Lead” initiative to educate and encourage young female Chili’s leaders to dream bigger and achieve their career goals. “I was just incredibly lucky [and] blessed; I’ve had amazing opportuni ties. It was a windy path, I like to say; it wasn’t a straight-up vertical,” she says. “I took that turn to COO and everything changed for me then.” Most recently, Valade led Red Lob ster as CEO, and in just eight months bolstered the seafood chain’s leadership team, filling the C-suite with industry leaders. Now, Valade is looking to make a pos

DENNY’S ESTIMATED AVERAGE UNIT VOLUMES IN 2022 WERE $1.73 MILLION, ACCORDING TO DATA PARTNER CIRCANA.

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AUGUST 2023

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