SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Denny's Corp. and Pilot Travel Centers LLC said that Denny's will develop restaurants within Pilot Travel Centers across the United States. This new relationship represents the joining of two of the nation's largest companies in their respective categories: the largest full-service family restaurant chain and the largest operator of travel centers.
"Developing restaurants along our nation's highways has always been an important part of Denny's heritage," said Nelson Marchioli, Denny's president and CEO. "We are particularly pleased [image-nocss] to establish a partnership of this magnitude because of Pilot Travel Centers' extensive national presence. Denny's customers, many of whom are highway travelers, will now have the opportunity to enjoy good food at a great value 24/7 while fulfilling all of their travel needs in one convenient location."
The first Denny's/Pilot location is under construction in Mount Vernon, Ill. Development of additional Denny's restaurants in Pilot Travel Center locations is expected to begin early next year.
The Denny's restaurant within the Pilot Travel Center will be predominately based on Denny's new prototype design with square footage and seating in line with a typical building.
"Our customers have requested more full-service restaurants, and we are pleased to respond through our partnership with Denny's," said Mark Hazelwood, executive vice president of sales and development of Pilot Travel Centers. "We plan to add 20-25 new travel centers per year, and for the full-service locations Denny's is a good fit for that growth plan."
The typical travel center includes at least one nationally recognized fast-food restaurant, a variety of retail merchandise, automobile and truck fueling facilities and other services aimed at drivers and interstate travelers, such as showers, ATMs, Internet kiosks, laundry facilities and CAT Scales for trucks.
Spartanburg, S.C.-based Denny's is America's largest full-service restaurant family chain, consisting of 488 company-owned units and 1,051 franchised and licensed units, with operations in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Guam, Mexico, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.
Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot is the largest operator of travel centers and largest seller of over-the-road diesel fuel in the nation. It owns and operates a chain of nearly 300 travel centers in 40 states coast to coast; licenses locations in Kansas, Montana and Nebraska; and recently opened a location in Canada.
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