Host: Jane Howze, Managing Director, The Alexander Group Guest: Dawn Lafreeda, Largest Single-Owner Franchisee in Denny’s History Series: Impact & Insight, The Alexander Group
Episode Summary
Dawn bought her first restaurant at 23 using credit cards, tips, and a $10,000 loan from her mother — before women could reliably get business loans. Today she is the largest single-owner franchisee in Denny’s history, operating 62 restaurants that serve more than 2 million diners a year. In this episode, Dawn tells Jane Howze how she scaled from one restaurant to a peak of 92, survived 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic, and why she now serves as executive producer of the documentary Show Her the Money, which examines why women receive only 2% of venture capital and private equity funding.
Key Takeaways
Q: How did Dawn finance her first restaurant without a business loan? A: In the early 1980s, women routinely could not get business loans. Dawn applied for every credit card offer she received in the mail, pulling $5,000 at a time across multiple cards. Her business partner secured a small loan from a family member, and Dawn’s mother loaned her under $10,000. The first restaurant was bought entirely on credit cards, tips, and family loans.
Q: How did she grow from 5 restaurants to 62? A: Dawn scaled in stages rather than all at once. She prioritized buying existing restaurants with trained staff already in place over building new locations from the ground up, since existing restaurants cash-flowed faster and didn’t require hiring 100 people at once. She didn’t bring in executive leadership (a director of operations, a controller, an HR person) until she passed 20 stores — before that, she and her business partner ran the day-to-day operations themselves.
Q: What is the biggest advantage of owning a franchise versus an independent restaurant? A: Lenders extend more comfort to franchisees because the franchisor has an interest in keeping locations open. As Dawn explains, if a franchisee fails, brands like Denny’s will work to find a replacement operator so the lender gets repaid — a safety net independent restaurants don’t have. Franchises also provide built-in operational support: design teams for remodels, corporate-driven menu development, and standardized recipes and food costing.
Q: What was the hardest period in her 40-year career? A: Dawn cites three major crises: 9/11 (which caused a 30% overnight sales drop from restaurants near airports and set her back seven years financially), the 2008 financial crisis (which froze her ability to refinance debt or close deals for four to five years), and the COVID-19 pandemic, which was the worst of the three — she had under 24 hours to close all 92 of her open restaurants and lost $1 million in food inventory overnight.
Q: What percentage of venture capital and private equity funding goes to women-led businesses? A: According to Show Her the Money, the documentary Dawn executive produced, women receive only about 2% of venture capital and private equity funding, compared to roughly 8% for men-led businesses.
Full Conversation
From Waitress to Restaurant Owner
Dawn grew up with limited financial resources and decided by age 10 that she would own her own company. She started at Denny’s as a hostess, negotiated her way into a server role to earn tips, and bought her first restaurant at 23 in a small West Texas mining town that Denny’s corporate didn’t want to convert.
Dawn Lafreeda: “I knew that if I was ever going to become anything, I would have to do something on my own… I never wanted to have to worry about money.”
Financing Without a Business Loan
As a woman in the early 1980s, Dawn could not secure conventional business loans. She financed her first restaurant purchase through credit cards, tip savings, and small family loans.
Dawn LaFrieda: “So no, we didn’t get any loans.”
The Random Encounter That Taught Her to Borrow Money
In 1986, a stranger overheard Dawn being denied financing for a $3,500 fax machine and offered to personally loan her money at a high interest rate, gradually increasing the loan size as she repaid — from $10,000, to $25,000, to $100,000 — to help her build a credit history.
Dawn Lafreeda: “That man that I met really taught me how to borrow money… after we get to where I’ve loaned you $100,000 and you’ve paid me back, you’re going to be able to borrow money a lot easier.”
Scaling From 5 to 62 Restaurants
Dawn grew her portfolio in deliberate stages, buying existing restaurants with staff already in place rather than building from scratch, and waiting until she passed 20 stores to bring in executive leadership (a director of operations, a controller, an HR professional).
Surviving Three Major Crises
Over her 40-year career, Dawn navigated three industry-altering shocks:
- 9/11 (2001): A 30% overnight sales drop from restaurants located near airports, which she says set her business back seven years.
- The 2008 Financial Crisis: She was mid-flight closing an eight-restaurant acquisition in Kansas City when her bank called to halt the deal due to “material adverse conditions.” Refinancing and new deals were frozen for four to five years.
- COVID-19 (2020): She had under 24 hours to close all 92 of her open restaurants, lost $1 million in food inventory overnight, and kept employees on payroll during the shutdown.
Dawn Lafreeda: “I called my lender and I said, I am going to be 10 days late on my payments because my sales are down 30%… My lender came to me and said, Don, you are the kind of client we love to have.”
The Post-Pandemic Shift in Customer Behavior
Dawn notes that remote work and the rise of third-party delivery have permanently changed her business — one of her restaurants now does 62% of its business through pickup and delivery, making it difficult to know the age or profile of her customer base the way she once did.
Executive Producing Show Her the Money
Dawn serves as executive producer of the documentary, which highlights that women receive only about 2% of venture capital and private equity funding, versus roughly 8% for men. She agreed to join the project after a stranger overheard her discussing her hesitation on a flight and confirmed the statistic was accurate.
Dawn Lafreeda: “It’s true… women only get about 2%… I think it brings about huge awareness and shows people that we have to invest in women.”
Philanthropy and Community Involvement
Dawn and her team focus giving on a small number of organizations for greater impact, including No Kid Hungry (in partnership with Denny’s Corporate, where Denny’s is the second-largest corporate donor), the Denny’s Mobile Relief Diner (which fed first responders and flood victims in Kerrville, Texas), Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and ProStart, a program training young culinary students for the restaurant industry.
Pull-Quote Highlights
“I never wanted to have to worry about money.” — Dawn Lafreeda, Largest Single-Owner Franchisee in Denny’s History
“That man that I met really taught me how to borrow money.” — Dawn Lafreeda, on the mentor who financed her early growth
“Nobody does it alone.” — Dawn Lafreeda, closing remarks
Stats & Data Points
- Dawn owns 62 Denny’s restaurants today, serving more than 2 million diners annually
- At her peak, she operated 92 restaurants simultaneously; she has owned roughly 120 over her career
- 9/11 caused a 30% overnight sales decline at her airport-adjacent locations
- The COVID-19 shutdown forced her to close 92 restaurants within 24 hours and cost $1 million in lost food inventory overnight
- One of her restaurants does 62% of its business through pickup and delivery
- Women receive approximately 2% of venture capital and private equity funding, versus roughly 8% for men (per Show Her the Money)
- Denny’s is the second-largest corporate donor to No Kid Hungry
Guest & Host Bios
Host: Jane Howze is Managing Director of The Alexander Group, an executive search firm specializing in senior leadership placements for elite law firms, professional services firms, and life sciences organizations.
Guest: Dawn Lafreeda is the largest single-owner franchisee in Denny’s history, operating a portfolio of restaurants across the country. She has served on the Denny’s brand board, received more than 70 industry awards, and is executive producer of the award-winning documentary Show Her the Money, which examines the gender gap in startup funding. She has also appeared on seasons one through three of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch.
Related Resources
- Show Her the Money: available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime; more information at showherthemoneymovie.com
- No Kid Hungry, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, Big Brothers Big Sisters, ProStart — Dawn Lafreeda’s supported nonprofits