Fasika Melaku

“a long-term franchisee, we considered him family, so we're saddened about that, and saddened obviously about the team members and what happened with them. You know we're doing everything we can to help (the new franchisee) connect with them because we're looking to open some of those (restaurants) back up.”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku expressed sadness over the closure of restaurants by a long-term franchisee and said Denny's is working to reopen some of those locations.

“in all our restaurants in April,”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku said she hopes the new menu will be in all Denny's restaurants in April.

“And, by the way, pancakes for dinner, we got that too, right? And if you want to mix, we've got that.”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku emphasized the range of food Denny's offers through its new catering services, including pancakes for dinner.

“Yes, closures did happen. It's very unfortunate,”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku acknowledged the recent closures of five Denny's restaurants in Minnesota and Wisconsin by a franchisee.

“We have more food designed that will be introduced to our system than I have seen in the last 12 years.”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku, who has been with Denny's for twelve years, said the amount of new food being introduced exceeds anything she has seen in that time.

“I'm seeing the future. I'm seeing the work, people rolling up their sleeves like I haven't seen before,”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku described seeing renewed effort and commitment among Denny's staff under new leadership.

“I know what we're doing, but others don't.”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku expressed confidence in Denny's internal direction despite outside perceptions of the brand.

“We've got new burgers, tons of sauces, just new ways of doing things,”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku described new items on Denny's upcoming menu expected to go live in about 40 restaurants between late October and mid-November.

“They saw an opportunity with this iconic brand to move forward in ways that were maybe hampered after COVID, and so going private gave us an opportunity to redesign our organizational structure to be very focused on what we believe will add value,”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku told USA TODAY that going private allowed Denny's to redesign its organizational structure to focus on adding value.

“We've got some new french fries coming out that we are thrilled about.”

Fasika Melaku · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-12

Melaku described new french fries coming to Denny's as part of the new menu rollout.