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| Nasir Farooqui, a franchisee for Denny’s in San Diego County, says he plans to build at least two new restaurants in the next two years. |
Spartanburg, S.C.-based Denny’s Corp. has announced local growth plans, sure to be a grand slam among breakfast-loving San Diegans.
The first step in those plans includes the sale of 34 company-owned restaurants to new and existing franchise holders.
Of the corporation’s 1,539 units nationally, 488 are company-owned and 1,051 are franchises.
Nasir Farooqui, franchisee for Denny’s in San Diego since 2005, says he plans to build at least two restaurants in the next two years.
Currently, San Diego is home to 39 Denny’s restaurants, 22 of which are franchised.
“It’s very tough to find land here in Southern California. We are looking into the downtown area, which is not well-represented,” Farooqui said.
Denny’s generated $994 million in sales in 2006, bringing $30.3 million to the bottom line. Traded as DENN on Nasdaq, Denny’s stock closed at $3.79 on Aug. 15.
Farooqui says that customer service and guest satisfaction is of utmost importance to Denny’s, as it should be at any big name restaurant that seeks repeat business.
Farooqui has also been a franchisee for Jack in the Box Inc. since 1972. He was a franchisee for the Hardees fast-food chain.
In 1993, Denny’s fell under an uncomfortable spotlight. It faced the first in several lawsuits and thousands of claims of racial discrimination of its customers.
By 1995, the company had paid $54 million to some 295,000 customers and their lawyers to settle the suits.
In this period, the company also embarked on a successful turnaround effort to improve customer relations.
In June 2007, Denny’s Corp. was designated one of New York-based Black Enterprise Magazine’s 40 best companies for diversity.
