The company has reorganized its field management structure for both company and franchise operations, as well as certain support functions, to shift more responsibility to the field level. Approximately $3 million of the savings will be reinvested into initiatives to drive sales and unit growth.

"Certainly, this realignment of our field operations structure will help us with the initiatives that are part of our strategic plan," a spokeswoman told GlobeSt. Currently, the company has commitments to open 46 new units, including five to seven company-owned restaurants and 20 to 25 franchised units, this year. The remaining stores are in the pipeline.

"We are reallocating resources to fund innovation and growth at Denny's to ensure that we are more responsive, more relevant and more profitable in an increasingly competitive industry," said Nelson Marchioli, president and CEO, in the press release announcing the realignment. Denny's 488 company-owned units and 1,051 franchised and licensed units operate in the US, Canada, Costa Rica, Guam, Mexico, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.