Denny's franchise
2026 filing · April 30, 2026Shares sales figures
Denny's at a glance
A full-service family restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner around the clock. At the end of 2025 there were 1,274 Denny's locations in the US, 1,212 franchised and 62 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- DFO, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Spartanburg, South Carolina
- Typical size
- About 4,200 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $1.62M–$3.06M
- Diner 2.0 restaurant, excluding land
- Franchise fee
- $30,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 4.5–7%
- 4.5% to 7% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 3%
- 3% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Agreement length
- 20 years
- Territory
- None
- No exclusive territory
- Franchisor financing
- Some financing offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 1,274
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 1,212
- Company-owned
- 62
- States
- 48
- Most in California, Texas and Florida
From DFO, LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 401; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Denny's among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Denny's | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $2,337,250 | Costs more than 94% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $30,000 | Lower than 72% of franchises |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 1,274 | More than 98% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $1,951,330 | Higher than 86% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 0.8× | Lower than 86% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Denny's franchise costs
Opening Diner 2.0 restaurant, excluding land costs an estimated $1,618,575 to $3,055,925. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: DFO, LLC, 2026 filing, page 29
Denny's franchise fee
The franchise fee is $30,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: DFO, LLC, 2026 filing, page 18
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 4.5% to 7% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 3% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
| Standard Enterprise Technology Platform Support Fee | $55 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: DFO, LLC, 2026 filing, page 21
Other fees as filed, from page 22. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Denny's publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average net sales
- $1,951,330
- Median net sales
- $1,829,472
Yearly figures for fiscal 2025, covering traditional franchised restaurants open all 12 months (excludes The Den restaurants) (1,178 locations). The average is about 0.8 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: DFO, LLC, 2026 filing, page 76
SBA loans to Denny's franchisees
Lenders approved 255 SBA-backed loans for Denny's franchisees from 1991 to 2026, $186.4M in all: 201 7(a) loans and 54 504 loans. Of the 221 that have ended, 205 were paid in full and 16 were charged off (7.2%). The other 34 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Denny's compares
Of the 58 breakfast franchises on this site, Denny's is the 56th cheapest to open and the 2nd largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Denny's | Typical breakfast brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $1.62M | $640K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $3.06M | $1.2M | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $30K | $40K | $40K |
| Brand fund | 3% | 1.4% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $1.95M | $1.72M | $794K |
| US locations | 1,274 | 13 | 21 |
| Change in franchised locations, 0 yrs | −12.2% | +6.7% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 46 of 58 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 58 brands in breakfast franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,422 (−17) | 65 |
| 2022 | 1,379 (−43) | 66 |
| 2023 | 1,342 (−38) | 65 |
| 2024 | 1,273 (−69) | 61 |
| 2025 | 1,212 (−61) | 62 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 1,439 to 1,212 (−227, −16%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: DFO, LLC, 2026 filing, page 79
2021–2022: DFO, LLC, 2024 filing, page 90
Where Denny's locations are
At the end of 2025, Denny's had franchised locations in 49 states and territories. The most are in California, Texas and Florida.
- California327
- Texas169
- Florida95
- Arizona72
- Illinois42
- Washington40
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| California | 327 |
| Texas | 169 |
| Florida | 95 |
| Arizona | 72 |
| Illinois | 42 |
| Washington | 40 |
| Nevada | 35 |
| Pennsylvania | 33 |
| Indiana | 29 |
| New Mexico | 28 |
All 49 states
Source: DFO, LLC, 2026 filing, page 83
Who owns Denny's?
Denny's franchises are sold by DFO, LLC.
From DFO, LLC’s 2026 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on page 16. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: DFO, LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 16, bankruptcy on page 17
Denny's filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from DFO, LLC’s 2026 filing, issued April 30, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | April 30, 2026 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | April 30, 2024 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other breakfast franchises
All breakfast franchises
Denny's is also on these lists: restaurant franchises, food franchises.