Franchise Facts Report → brands → Denny's Restaurant
Denny's Restaurant franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Shrinking network Item 19 disclosed
Denny's Restaurant is a well-known full-service restaurant brand requiring a substantial initial investment between $1.5M and $2.7M.
Everything below is free, read straight off Denny's Restaurant's registered filing, with where the numbers land against full-service restaurant peers. Weighing Denny's Restaurant against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Denny's Restaurant's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641512 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Denny's Restaurant? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Denny's Restaurant will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Denny's Restaurant franchise make?
Denny's Restaurant is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure is $1,951,330 in average unit revenue — read it alongside what Item 19 says about which units it covers (often only mature or top-performing locations). See every full-service restaurant brand that discloses earnings in the Full-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Denny's Restaurant franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Denny's Restaurant's 4.5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Denny's Restaurant franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Denny's Restaurant franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $1,951,330 of revenue, a 4.5% royalty alone is about $87,810 a year before any other cost.
Denny's Restaurant lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Denny's Restaurant's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose 3 legal proceedings in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Denny's Restaurant itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. 2 of those proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
Denny's Restaurant closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Denny's Restaurant will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Denny's Restaurant's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a full-service restaurant of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Denny's Restaurant's latest tables show a shrinking franchised network — more units left than opened. Net franchised outlets moved -61 to 1,212 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Denny's Restaurant?
Denny's Restaurant's franchise is offered by DFO, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Full-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Denny's Restaurant is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Denny's Restaurant franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Denny's Restaurant — who is the franchisor?
Denny's Restaurant's most recently filed FDD (2026) names DFO, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Denny's Restaurant franchise cost?
Denny's Restaurant's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $1,515,000 – $2,700,000, with an initial franchise fee of $30,000 and a 4.5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against full-service restaurant peers it sits in the lower quartile (median $1,392,100).
How much profit does a Denny's Restaurant franchise make?
Denny's Restaurant discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (4.5% of gross for Denny's Restaurant), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Denny's Restaurant franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Denny's Restaurant discloses is $1,951,330 in average unit revenue.
Does Denny's Restaurant disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Denny's Restaurant reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $1,951,330 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Denny's Restaurant?
Denny's Restaurant's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses 3 legal proceedings in Item 3. Item 3 covers the franchisor, its predecessors, parents and affiliates — so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Denny's Restaurant itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing. 2 of the disclosed proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor.
Is Denny's Restaurant a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Denny's Restaurant's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against full-service restaurant peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Denny's Restaurant or full-service restaurant: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.