Denny's Is Innovating... On College Campuses, Not at Its Restaurants
Denny's (DENN) has battled its image as a laggard brand for years, trying without success to turn around its slumping sales. Now, it turns out it had the power to innovate all along -- it's just not focusing that energy on the existing restaurant chain.
In a lengthy recent interview for the restaurant-industry trade publication QSR magazine, Denny's vice president of concept innovation, Greg Powell, describes the efforts that went into the January debut of Denny's new quick-serve concept, Denny's Fresh Express. Powell relates the two-year process that went into designing a 250-square-foot counter-service version of Denny's.
Besides figuring out how to cram the kitchen into a tiny space and still having room for a hand-crafted drink station, Denny's downsized the menu and created new menu items to fit the on-the-go model. One creative solution to how to deliver the Grand Slam breakfast to college kids on the run: The Grand Slamwich, the Grand Slam eggs-sausage-and-bacon classic delivered on a toasted panini.
The first Denny's Fresh Express opened on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino in January (here's the company video about it), and the budding chain has grown to six locations, all on or near colleges.
And the innovation doesn't stop there! The company is also shopping another quick-serve concept to potential franchise owners. Denny's All Nighter is a theme the company developed to try to draw more visitors to its restaurants in the wee hours. Now, it's designed a Denny's AllNighter restaurant prototype for food courts and campuses that would be All Nighter, all the time, offering a safe-yet-fun place for students to hang out.
These new concepts are great news for Denny's, as the company could use a growing offshoot or two. If its fast-food concepts grow, they could possibly survive even if the sit-down restaurant chain doesn't make it.
But the big question is why this level of creativity can't be applied to the main Denny's chain. It could really use some fresh ideas.
Photo via Flickr user MikeLove Related: