Denny’s Corp. has removed John Dillon from his role as president of its namesake diner chain, the dual-brand company revealed Thursday in a securities filing.
His duties have been assumed by corporate CEO Kelli Valade, according to the SEC document.
The SEC document indicated that Dillon will continue to work for Denny’s in a “non-executive” position for the remainder of fiscal 2023, when he will technically be terminated.
He will continue to draw his base salary until then, and will receive an additional 12 months of pay and benefits after the termination, since it would be without cause at that stage of his tenure.
No reason was given for Dillon’s removal as president. The SEC document bluntly states that Dillon “ceased to be a company executive” as of Monday, with little additional information provided.
He moved into that role after a long tenure in Denny’s marketing department. As head of marketing, he was responsible for such moves as re-formulating Denny’s pancakes.
Dillon moved up to president last August, shortly after Valade joined the company to succeed John Miller as CEO. Shortly beforehand, the company acquired a second concept, Keke’s Breakfast Café, which was given its own management structure.
Dillon spent a total of more than 16 years with the Denny’s brand.
The diner chain has been striving to reverse a decline in traffic. Same-store sales for the second quarter rose 3%, a low gain compared with the Q2 comp increases posted by other full-service restaurant chains.
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