<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000852772-24-000092.txt : 20250103
<SEC-HEADER>0000852772-24-000092.hdr.sgml : 20250103
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20241115155419
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000852772-24-000092
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20241115

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			DENNY'S Corp
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000852772
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	RETAIL-EATING PLACES [5812]
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	07 Trade & Services
		IRS NUMBER:				133487402
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1225

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		203 EAST MAIN STREET
		CITY:			SPARTANBURG
		STATE:			SC
		ZIP:			29319
		BUSINESS PHONE:		8645978000

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		203 EAST MAIN STREET
		CITY:			SPARTANBURG
		STATE:			SC
		ZIP:			29319

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	DENNYS CORP
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	20020801

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	ADVANTICA RESTAURANT GROUP INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19980107

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	FLAGSTAR COMPANIES INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19930722
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.htm
<TEXT>
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<title>Document</title></head><body><div id="i256a21badbaa48d0a389e8be2f0896ee_1"></div><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div style="margin-bottom:8pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">November 15, 2024</font></div><div style="margin-bottom:8pt"><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">United States Securities and Exchange Commission</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Division of Corporation Finance</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Office of Trade &#38; Services</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">100 F Street, N.E.</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Washington D.C., 20549</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Attn&#58;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Nasreen Mohammed</font></div><div style="text-indent:36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Joel Parker</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Re&#58; &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Denny's Corporation </font></div><div style="text-indent:36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 27, 2023</font></div><div style="text-indent:36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Form 8-K filed July 30, 2024</font></div><div style="text-indent:36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">File No. 000-18051</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Ladies and Gentlemen&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">The purpose of this letter is to provide the detailed response of Denny&#8217;s Corporation (the &#8220;Company&#8221;) to the comments set forth in the letter dated October 22, 2024 from the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the &#8220;Staff&#8221;) to the Company. The Staff&#8217;s October 22, 2024 letter addressed the Company&#8217;s October 9, 2024 letter to the Staff in response to the Staff&#8217;s original September 17, 2024 letter to the Company.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">For your convenience, the Staff&#8217;s comments have been reproduced in their entirety followed by the Company&#8217;s response. </font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Form 8-K filed July 30, 2024</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Exhibit 99.1- Press Release, dated July 30, 2024</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Reconciliation of Net Income to Non-GAAP Financial Measures, page 8</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">1.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:10.5pt">We note your response to prior comment 1. Please further explain the nature of your legal settlement expenses including your basis for concluding each component of this adjustment is consistent with the Non-GAAP Financial Measures Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations. Given your growth strategy to increase your restaurants, it appears that pre-opening expenses are normal, recurring, cash operating expenses necessary to operate your core business. Please revise or advise.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Response&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#8226;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:14.5pt">As noted in its prior response, the Company has excluded all legal settlement expenses (other than with respect to certain claims it considers attendant to its core operations, such as &#8220;slip and fall&#8221; type litigation) from its non-GAAP measures of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income. In considering the Staff&#8217;s most recent comment, the Company has concluded that legal expenses related to certain other claims should be considered part of the core operations of the business, and thus not excluded from these non-GAAP measures. Such claims primarily consist of those raised by Company employees relating to matters typically associated with employment law, such as harassment, discrimination or hostile work environment.  In future presentations of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income, and any other relevant non-GAAP measures, the Company will not exclude such legal expenses. </font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div style="padding-left:36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">However, the Company respectfully continues to believe that certain other legal expenses, which it does not consider normal and recurring, should be excluded from its non-GAAP measure. These would include expenses relating to claims such as website accessibility as well as class action claims.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#8226;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:14.5pt">As to pre-opening expenses, the Company notes again that it does not have an extensive history of opening new company-owned restaurants. The Company&#8217;s recent strategy modification, whereby it is attempting to grow the Keke&#8217;s Breakfast Caf&#233; brand through company development of new locations with the expectation of subsequently selling these restaurants to franchisees, is a near-term strategy, and the Company expects to return to majority franchise development in the mid-term and beyond. The amount and cadence of such company restaurant openings are expected to be highly volatile and irregular, as are the revenues that the Company ultimately expects to receive with respect to the sales of the opened franchises, which the Company also plans to exclude. Including pre-opening expenses &#8211; or the revenues associated with the eventual sales of the company restaurants &#8211; in periodic operating results can cause results to be misleading in terms of illustrating the long-term core operations of the business.  </font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">The Company hopes that the additional information provided in this response sufficiently addresses the Staff&#8217;s comments. However, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned at 864-597-8347 if you have any further questions.</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div><div><table style="border-collapse:collapse;display:inline-table;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:100.000%"><tr><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:42.970%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:7.073%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:30.630%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:14.927%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="6" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Respectfully,</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">&#47;s&#47; Robert P. Verostek</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Robert P. Verostek</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Executive Vice President and<br>Chief Financial Officer</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr></table></div><div style="margin-bottom:8pt"><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">cc&#58; Mr. Justin W. Chairman </font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div></div></body></html>
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