The Most Popular Meal of The Day
Where We Started
Founded in 1958 as a single pancake house in Ohio, Perkins has transformed into the nation's leading family restaurant. And when we say that, we aren’t joking. With nearly 300 company-owned and franchised locations in 32 states and two Canadian provinces, we’re pretty proud of how far we’ve come.
Through the years, Perkins has remained true to its mission of providing guests with friendly service and classic comfort dishes at a great price. Sure, Perkins started with dozens of pancake and waffle options, but soon enough we grew to offer American staples like breakfast all day, hearty steak plates, juicy burgers, and a wide selection of handcrafted handhelds, soups, and salads. The most iconic piece of Perkins Bakery is, you guessed it, our pie.
Our in-store bakery offers a wide selection of fruit pies, cream pies, dreamy pies, along with scrumptious cookies, and our signature Mammoth Muffins®. Our goal has always been to leave guests feeling satisfied, which means we’re always updating our menu with fresh, flavorful, and innovative items that take their place right next to our classic, beloved menu items. Some of our most iconic dishes have been on the menu for more than 30 years. Pretty sweet, huh?
At Perkins, we take great pride in our service, experience, and feeding folks what they like. It’s the cornerstone of our company, and the thing that keeps us going after all these years.
1958
Our doors open for the first time in Cincinnati, Ohio as a pancake house and we become famous for offering two dozen kinds of pancakes and waffles-from coconut to strawberry to classic buttermilk and everything in between.
1969
We change our name to Perkins Cake & Steak and introduce new lunch and dinner plates. Soon after, we change our name one last time to Perkins Bakery & Restaurant.
1986
Perkins in-store bakery is born. People keep coming back for pies, pies, and more pies. Now located in over 29 states, we continue to spread kindess and homestyle cooking across the country.
1988
Oh Canada! We officially make it international with the first Perkins opening opening in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
2018
Perkins hits a milestone. We celebrate 60 years of serving up homestyle, comfort classics to folks with an appetite.
Meet The Team
Michael Abt | Chief Executive Officer
Michael is an industry veteran with extensive experience growing brands. He was a senior vice president with Arby’s, responsible for more than 1000 restaurants, before joining Huddle House as CEO in 2012. In October 2019, Michael led the acquisition of the Perkins Restaurant & Bakery brand and formed Ascent Hospitality Management, a company founded with a vision to invigorate great brands and provide a catalyst for long-term growth. As a long-time restaurant operator, he understands what’s required to operate a successful restaurant and works closely with franchise partners to continually evolve the brand and maintain a competitive position. He and his team are focused on executing the brands mission: “To bring friends and families together, over delicious food, served from the heart." His organization is centered on providing outstanding franchise partner support to consistently deliver a memorable experience for Huddle House guests and boost profitability.
Alison Glenn Delaney | Chief Brand Officer
Alison brings over 30 years of experience in building restaurant brands with companies including T.G.I. Friday’s, Ruby Tuesday, Church’s Chicken, Rubio’s Coastal Grill, and Taco Cabana. She has been involved with Perkins Restaurants & Bakery since its acquisition in 2019, and as Chief Brand Officer oversees Marketing, Menu Development, Public Relations, and Guest Insights. She is responsible for reinforcing, both through our menu and our messaging, that at Perkins we serve up the rewarding, craveable experiences that call everyone back to our table. Eager to share her knowledge and experience, Alison has frequently been a guest speaker at many restaurant industry forums over the years, and in January 2022, Alison was recognized by FSR Magazine as one of the Restaurant Industry's Most Influential Marketing Leaders.
Nathan Ballard | Chief Supply Chain Officer
Nathan oversees all food, supply and smallware distribution from the Ascent Distribution Center. He is a 20-plus-year veteran of the distribution industry who joined Huddle House in 2004. Previously, Ballard served in Transportation Management roles at industry leaders A&P Supermarkets and GAF Materials Corp.
Jim Frank | Chief Operating Officer
Jim has more than 25 years of operations experience with Perkins since joining the brand in 1995, serving as COO since 2015. Previously, Jim has served as President of Marie Callenders and as a board member of the Minnesota Restaurant Association. In his current role, Jim oversees systemwide corporate and franchise operations for Perkins Restaurant & Bakery.
Peter Ortiz | Chief Development Officer
Peter Ortiz is an accomplished restaurant industry executive with an impressive track record of building successful franchise growth programs for notable brands such as QDOBA, Potbelly Sandwich Shop and FOCUS Brands. Throughout his eight years serving as the Vice President of Franchise Development and Recruitment at FOCUS Brands, Ortiz’s sales teams consistently sold over 200 franchise units per year. As a highly skilled business strategist, he will forge lasting relationships with franchise partners and implement an effective strategy, ensuring long-term growth for Perkins!
Robert Hess | Chief Information Officer
Robert is the Chief Information Officer for Ascent Hospitality Management. Most recently, Robert served as the Executive Consultant to Huddle House & Perkins and prior to that served as Chief Information Officer for the Perkins brand since 2015. Robert brings a 35-year track record of success with deep understanding of the role of information technology within the hospitality industry. Prior to Perkins, Robert worked for O’Charley’s Inc, for 8 years and prior to that, Brinker International for 15 years.
Melissa Rothring | Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Melissa joined the Huddle House team in 2013 and serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Ascent Hospitality Management. She has nearly 30 years of experience in franchising business analysis and management, focusing on financial and legal management initiatives with a concentration on effective branding and operational strategies. Rothring previously held executive leadership positions for holding companies such as GFG Management LLC and Kahala Corp., multi-brand retail and QSR management platforms of licensors and franchisors.
Ronald DiNella | Chief Financial Officer
Ron DiNella has over 25 years in restaurant financial management. He is a proven leader in his field with a vast knowledge and expertise in the area of strategic growth planning, profit enhancement, mergers and acquisitions, as well as business planning and analysis. Prior to joining Huddle House, Ron was the CFO for Don B’s Fresh Kitchen. Over the span of his career, he has led companies initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange; directed the successful refinancing of a $70M credit facility; contributed to the expansion of his former company from 20 to 77 restaurants and the list goes on.
ARE YOU READY TO LEARN MORE?
In The News
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July 28, 2022
4 REASONS CUSTOMERS LOVE PERKINS DINNER FRANCHISES
While there’s no question Perkins is a dinner franchise, we are also quite famous for our breakfast menu. Customers can order anything off our menu at any time of day, which means breakfast for dinner is always a popular choice. It just so happens that this is welcoming news for our franchisees, as our breakfast items carry high-profit margins!
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May 24, 2022
HUDDLE HOUSE, PERKINS EXPERIENCE RECORD UNIT DEVELOPMENT
Celebrating a monumental end to its fiscal year (April 2022), Huddle House and Perkins Restaurant & Bakery expanded their footprints nationwide by collectively signing 32 franchise agreements. Seven existing franchisees are building on their current portfolios and driving Huddle House and Perkins’ expansion across nine states.
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May 14, 2022
MEET RUSSELL BERNER: FRANCHISEE OF 49 PERKINS RESTAURANTS
Russell Berner is vice president of restaurant operations and a partner with 80-unit franchisee JDK Management. He’s also a chef who graduated from The Culinary Institute of America. He says that connection to food and discipline helped prepare him for the corporate climb.
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