Business

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, July 6, 2007 New Denny's owner wants to expand By Eric Fetters, Herald Writer Four Denny's restaurants in Everett and Lynnwood have been sold to a franchisee who plans to open new locations as part of a growth initiative for the restaurant chain. Denny's eateries on Pacific Avenue, Evergreen Way and 128th Street SW in Everett and on 196th Street SW in Lynnwood are now owned by a California-based franchisee called DWO. The restaurants formerly were corporately owned by Denny's. "We see this as a growth potential market," said Gene Erdman, spokesman for DWO of La Palma, Calif. Left a bit unclear is whether employees' compensation will be affected; some have voiced concerns about that in wake of the ownership change. Erdman said the pay won't change, and any changes to benefits would be related to switching from ownership under publicly held Denny's to the privately held franchisee. "All employees will be retained in their current positions," he said. "Really, it will be business as usual." A manager at the Lynnwood Denny's declined to comment on how employees may be affected; he referred questions to the new owner. A manager at the downtown Everett Denny's said he wasn't aware of any changes to pay or benefits outside of a switch in 401k plans. The head of DWO is Hashad Dharod, the nation's largest franchisee of Carl's Jr. outlets. In addition to the Snohomish County locations, he took over 15 other Denny's restaurants in Washington and plans to open up to eight more across the state in the coming years. Nationwide, Denny's has more than 1,500 locations, a number that's stayed fairly static in recent years, said corporate spokeswoman Debbie Atkins. So selling corporate-owned restaurants to franchisees is designed to accelerate the chain's growth. Other local Denny's restaurants in Arlington, Monroe, Bothell and Edmonds remain under their existing ownerships. Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.

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