With the lawsuits mounting and the profits dropping, it’s time to play CYA and put on a game face that gives the impression that Dream Dinners is a respectable company and one that actually has a business plan.

Darin wants everyone to know they have 180 stores open, but that there indeed have been some closures. But fear not, those closures were all part of the master plan. Most of these closures would be due to their restructuring and would have nothing to do with this business not being able to handle any sort of competition, or the fact the owners went bankrupt due to that same competition and spending any profits they do make or digging into their own pockets to create massive advertising campaigns since the company itself is either unable or unwilling to.

Dream Dinners also claims they have a great relationship with their owners, that they will compete in the $25 billion retail food space and the lawsuit has been cleanly compartmentalized from the business.

So to compete in this new $25 billion retail space, does that mean Dream Dinners actually plans to spend some money on national marketing? We should expect TV and magazine ads every month from now on? We should be able to open national magazines and see full-page Dream Dinners ads? We should see Dream Dinners sponsoring TV shows or creating commercials that will be seen from coast to coast?

Does Dream Dinners have a great relationship with their owners because they let them out of their failed business contract if they agree to pay $20,000 and promise not to file litigation? Darin claims they have no reason to settle their cases, but certainly seems interesting they’re adding this non-litigation clause when stores need to file bankruptcy and thus break away from Dream Dinners.

And Dream Dinners is a financially sound company that’s in better shape than their competitors because they are selling antiques out of their home office as a side business to pay the rent on the building? Or is it because they are robbing Peter to pay Paul and using money ear marked for charities to cover debts and loans? Or is it they have so much money coming in from owner royalties even though dozens of owners are either not paying them or have fallen several months behind in their payments. Let us not forget some of those previous Top 10 stores, some of which were able to generate $1 million in sales, have now closed their doors.

But according to Darin the market has stabilized and that Dream Dinners is in front of all the major trends. So as 1000 stores have closed since 2006 (nearly half), the market has stabilized. Since most stores can barely get 200 people through the doors in a single month, they are giving busy mom’s exactly what they need. Since the foods costs have almost doubled in the last 6 months and the cost of each meal continues to go up Dream Dinners and other meal prep kitchens are at the heart of the effort to put dinner back on the table. The number of people taking part in the meal assembly process is decreasing every month. And it’s not even meal assembly anymore; it’s simply a “grab and go” or “take and bake” operation. The concept of meal assembly bears a striking resemblance to the deli section of the local supermarket.

Dream Dinners is completely and utterly committed to their owners which is why when something goes wrong they blame the owners and say they are too focused on the bottom line and actually earning a living. They didn’t follow the model. They didn’t give away enough food in Sneak Peeks. Dream Dinners didn’t supply false earning statements; the owners were just too wrapped up in the idea of running their business for a profit. Dream Dinners is about being part of a community, not making money.

SNOWHOMISH, Wash. (Blue MauMau) - CEO Darin Leonard said he came into Dream Dinners last February with his eyes wide open in regards to the litigation the company was facing. “We can never predict the outcome, but we believe we will prevail on all the merits of the cases,” Leonard said in an interview this week. “We have not settled and I have shared with my organization that it is not my intent to. But you never know.” Although there was speculation that the legal action would grow, he thought nothing out of the ordinary in that litigation was already commonplace in today’s franchise world.

Dream Dinners, a meal assembly franchise company, has been hit with two new lawsuits just this year, both now filed in state court in Washington. As reported last week, one lawsuit representing two franchisees in Ohio has been amended to include the franchisor’s attorneys as defendants, alleging illegal earnings claims among the allegations. The second lawsuit, representing approximately fifteen owners, is expected to be amended shortly on similar grounds.

Leonard again confirms that Dream Dinners has approximately 180 locations.  Although they did have 240 locations at one time, they have done some reorganizing of their owner partners. “There have definitely been stores that have closed.” He adds that some of it has actually been according to plan. Right now the chain is not growing.

Dream Dinners CEO Focused on Business Model, Not Litigation | Franchise News