Denny's Making a Comeback in Late-Night Snacking
By MOLLY LUKASH
Updated 1:30 PM EST, Tue, Jun 30, 2009
The restaurant commonly known as the place families sit down for a family meal is trying to attrack a new kind of clientele.
With fast-food restaurants like McDonald's and Taco Bell marketing themselves as the midnight snack spots, it's tough for a normally quiet chain diner to survive. For Dennys, the decline in business as of late has been “significant”, Mark Chmiel, chief marketing and innovation officer told the Wall Street Journal.
Innovation is key to business growth. So Denny’s turned to a musical remedy to regenerate their original landmark as the true late-night place.
The creation of the “Allnighter” program allows for upcoming artists to post-game at a local Denny’s, where the band and the fans can hang with some rockin’ good food. Famous artists have added their own innovative dishes to a “rockstar” menu that is available during this time.
Rascal Flatts, Jewel, and Good Charlotte have all put their tasty inventions on the menu, such as veggie burger burritos and a well-dressed steak, egg and cheese plate. Katy Perry even held an after-party there before she was famous.
The excitement sparked a moderate 5 percent boost in late-night snackage, but word is spreading about the refreshingly new Denny’s style. And when friends tell their friends who tell their friends what they saw, that word of mouth can generate a huge boost for business. Things are looking up for Denny's.
“I noticed that the menu looked different, I think it’s cool that they’re doing this,” a Bowling Green State University student said while home on summer break.
Denny's also leverages Twitter and MySpace to reach out to its target market of 18- to 24-year-olds.
First Published: Jun 30, 2009 11:57 AM EST
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