Advantica Restaurant Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:DINE), parent company of the Denny's, Coco's, and Carrows restaurant chains, ranked No. 1 in "America's 50 Best Companies for Minorities" survey by Fortune magazine, the company and Fortune announced today.

The magazine distributed surveys to 1,200 companies and ranked respondents on analysis of results in 15 categories, including minority representation on the board of directors, corporate officers, officials and managers, the 50 highest-salaried employees, total workforce, new employees hired in the past year, retention, purchasing, charitable contributions and diversity training.

"We are extremely proud to be recognized as the top company in America for embracing diversity, which is part of our culture today," said James B. Adamson, president and chief executive officer of Advantica and Denny's. "Inclusion and diversity are integral to the way we do business, something we focus on each day throughout our organization. We have come a long way and are committed to continuing our efforts in being a truly diverse company."

Adamson joined the company in 1995, following the settlement of two class-action lawsuits at Denny's involving race discrimination. Earlier this year, Adamson and publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc. released a book, The Denny's Story: How a Company in Crisis Resurrected Its Good Name, chronicling the restaurant chain's transformation from what some called a poster child for discrimination to a leader in workplace diversity. Adamson's royalties from The Denny's Story will be donated to Save the Children, Denny's national charity.

Three African-Americans and an Hispanic-American serve on Advantica's 1 1-member board of directors. Forty-seven percent of Advantica's more than 45,000 employees are minorities: 31 percent are Hispanic-American; 11 percent are African-American; and six percent are Asian-Pacific American. Thirty-five percent of Denny's franchise restaurants are minority owned. Advantica's annualized minority purchasing contracts for 1999 reached $110 million, or 17 percent of total annual food and non-food purchases.

For the past two years, Advantica has ranked among the top 10 companies in Fortune's annual ranking. Last year, the company ranked sixth in the survey. Additional information on the survey is available through Fortune's web site at http://www.fortune.com .

The company has received several awards for its inclusive culture. Earlier this month, the Council of Economic Priorities awarded Denny's its 2000 Corporate Conscience Diversity Award for outstanding achievement in corporate social responsibility. Working Woman magazine ranked Advantica eighth in its 2000 survey of the "Top 25 Companies for Women Executives."

Advantica is one of the largest restaurant companies in the United States, operating over 2,400 restaurants in the family dining segment. Advantica owns and operates the Denny's, Coco's and Carrows restaurant brands.

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