{"id":2341,"date":"2026-05-09T14:48:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T14:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/?p=2341"},"modified":"2026-05-09T14:48:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T14:48:38","slug":"dennys-rival-closes-dozens-of-restaurants-changes-menu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/?p=2341","title":{"rendered":"Denny\u2019s rival closes dozens of restaurants, changes menu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<p>When Americans look to save money, cutting down on restaurant dining tends to be one of the first cuts. It&#8217;s easier to replace a meal at a restaurant with eating at home, than making the decision to cut a streaming service, downgrade your car, or even to move someplace cheaper.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Although dining out remains a staple for Americans, economic pressures have made consumers more cost conscious. Seven in ten consumers say they eat out at least once a month, yet more than a third report doing so less frequently compared to last year, citing rising costs and a greater need to save financially,&#8221; said YouGov America Senior Sales Director Nora Hao.<\/p>\n<p>YouGov leveraged consumer research panel, which has 30 million registered members from over 55 markets to create the report.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>37% of US diners say they are dining out less frequently than they used to a year ago.<\/li>\n<li>Of these, 69% cite a perceived rise in expensiveness as a reason for them visiting restaurants less often.<\/li>\n<li>More than half of U.S. diners say they have altered their dining preferences with a view to saving money.<\/li>\n<li>Of these, 60% say they are choosing cheaper restaurants, while 53% say they look to use discounts or coupons to cut costs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It&#8217;s a market that has led to a number of restaurants struggling and Huddle House, a diner-style chain has not been immune.  The chain has closed over 50 restaurants and has made major changes to its menu as it attempts to attract younger customers and increase traffic.<\/p>\n<h2>Huddle House part of a restaurant closing trend<\/h2>\n<p>Huddle House has been shrinking as consumers have opted for cheaper dining choices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe expect trade downs to resume at a larger scale from middle income consumers shifting down from Casual and Family Dining in response to inflationary pressures, favoring those brands in Quick Service and Fast Casual.\u201d said Black Box Intelligence Chief Insights Officer Victor Fernandez.<\/p>\n<p>While some restaurants announce closures, Huddle House has simply shrunk its portfolio without public comment. <\/p>\n<p>Denny&#8217;s, for example, was open about its plans to close between 70 and 90 locations in 2025, adding to 88 closures from 2024.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI also want to take a moment and provide an update on our previously communicated strategy to close underperforming restaurants and return to pre-pandemic growth of flat to slightly positive in future years. The surgical and methodical approach, which began in 2023 and will be completed by the end of this year, was specifically designed to optimize and enhance the overall health of the franchise system with the goal of returning to net flat to positive growth by 2026,\u201d Denny\u2019s CEO Kelli F. Valade said during the chain&#8217;s second-quarter earnings call.<\/p>\n<p>Huddle House did not make a similar announcement, but it has been closing restaurants. <\/p>\n<p>The chain\u2019s footprint has shrunk from 313 locations in 2021 to roughly 250 today,  based on location counts from the company\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<h2>Huddle House changes its business model<\/h2>\n<p>In response to its struggles, Huddle House has pivoted from being a sit-down chain to adopting more of a fast-casual or quick-serve model.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Value, convenience and food quality are the three big drivers that will draw consumers into a restaurant for breakfast. No big surprise there, but priorities differ on weekdays vs. weekends,&#8221; according to Technomic\u2019s recent Breakfast Consumer Trend Report.<\/p>\n<p>Huddle House has made changes to lean into those trends.<\/p>\n<p>The company has been testing &#8220;a reimagined brand identity and positioning based on months of guest research, new menu innovation improving on the quality of core products for current guests and developing new products for new guests, and a trio of new restaurant prototypes to accelerate the brand\u2019s geographic expansion,&#8221; the company shared in a press release. <\/p>\n<p><strong>More Restaurants\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>30 year old restaurant has closed all restaurants<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>After bankruptcy, Hooters closes restaurants, fights for survival<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Iconic Las Vegas Strip restaurant closes without warning<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The chain has updated its logo in a way that modernizes its signature &#8220;HH&#8221; \u2014 a nod to the signature imprint on every fresh-cooked waffle.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At the heart of Huddle House\u2019s transformation is a bold redesign of Huddle House restaurants, crafted to maintain the brand\u2019s welcoming heart while attracting new and younger guests,&#8221; the company shared. <\/p>\n<p>The changes include: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In addition to a totally redesigned and improved new small-town mainline restaurant, Huddle House has also developed two new restaurant concepts designed to accelerate growth in urban, suburban, and non-traditional settings.<\/li>\n<li>The QSR conversion format focuses on drive-thru and walk-up ordering, catering to busy urban and suburban areas with a menu packed with Huddle House classics and portable options like sandwiches, burgers, burritos, and waffle tacos.<\/li>\n<li>The Huddle House Non-traditional format targets high-traffic locations such as airports, colleges, malls, and travel centers. <\/li>\n<li>The Non-traditional concept is designed for convenience, with portable, off-premise dining options in a smaller space of 500 to 1,200 square feet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The chain has also made changes to its menu.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;After 18 months of rigorous development and testing, Huddle House is currently rolling out significant upgrades to its core offerings \u2014 a key pillar of its transformation. Guests can now enjoy the new soft and buttery Southern Country Biscuit, all-new crispy and juicy Chicken Tenders, the new Smashed Huddle Burger, a reimagined Huddle Burger with a soft buttery potato bun, and all-new crispy crinkle fries,&#8221; the chain shared.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thestreet.com\/.image\/MjE1MzU5Njg2Mjg1NzMxMzQ3\/pancakes-restaurant-food-lead.jpg?io=1&amp;profile=rss\" height=\"675\" width=\"1200\"><figcaption>Huddle House offers a diner-style menu.<\/p>\n<p>Maslova Valentina via Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Huddle House needs to grow its sales<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Huddle House\u2019s low unit volumes \u2014 $818,000 per its 2024 franchise disclosure document \u2014 mean the brand may have little room to maneuver in a tight consumer environment,&#8221; according to Restaurant Dive. <\/p>\n<p>Huddle House, however, believes it can adapt to meet current market needs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The brand\u2019s goal is to preserve the nostalgic, small-town vibe that\u2019s core to the HH identity while updating it for the modern era. The updated prototype features a warm, inviting interior with booths, counter seating, and open kitchens, paired with contemporary finishes and personalized touches \u2014 like city-specific signage \u2014 to reinforce its role as a community gathering place,&#8221; FSR Magazine shared on the chain&#8217;s efforts to modernize. <\/p>\n<p>The chain has also embraced value by adding a $3.99 breakfast menu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re that magnet in a sea of quick-service options and much more expensive full-service options,\u201d James O\u2019Reilly, CEO of parent company Ascent Hospitality Management, which also owns Perkins American Food Co. told FSR. \u201cWe\u2019re that magnet for communities where everybody knows your name, the food is fresh off the grill, and we\u2019re a place for you, whether it\u2019s you and your friends or your family \u2026 and that\u2019s what makes Huddle House just so special.\u201d<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong>Related: McDonald\u2019s rival closes 729 more restaurants<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>#Dennys #rival #closes #dozens #restaurants #menu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Americans look to save money, cutting down on restaurant dining tends to be one of the first cuts. It&#8217;s easier to replace a meal at a restaurant with eating&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[246],"tags":[1459,4158,4159,2569,4160,1382],"class_list":["post-2341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-popular","tag-closes","tag-dennys","tag-dozens","tag-menu","tag-restaurants","tag-rival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}