The Denny’s Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Keke’s Breakfast Cafe for $82.5 million.
The deal includes the Keke’s Breakfast Cafe location at Village Crossroads shopping center in Lady Lake.
Keke’s Breakfast Cafe is based in Florida and opened its first restaurant in 2006. The Keke’s eatery concept offers handmade breakfast and lunch entrees with fresh fruits and vegetables that are delivered daily. Keke’s has 52 restaurants — 44 franchise locations and eight company-owned restaurants.
Keke’s Breakfast Cafe will operate independently from Denny’s with its own leadership, strategies, products, marketing, operations, and development initiatives.
“Today we announced the anticipated acquisition of Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, which we believe can drive incremental growth that complements the Denny’s brand,” John Miller, CEO of Denny’s, said in a statement. “Keke’s is a high-growth brand that aligns well with our core competency while providing us with an opportunity to participate in the fast-growing A.M. eatery segment. We intend to utilize the proven capabilities of our franchise-focused business model to develop Keke’s across multiple states with the long-term target of becoming the A.M. eatery franchisor of choice.”
The transaction is expected to close late in the fiscal second quarter of 2022.