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Updated RecentlyDenny's Cost Comparisons
About Denny's
In 1953, Harold Butler opened Danny's Donuts, a Lakewood, California, stand that served coffee and doughnuts 24 hours a day. The following year, the stand grew and its name was changed to Danny's Coffee Shops. Five years later, there were 20 shops in the chain, and the company changed its name to Denny's. Denny's locations serve breakfast, lunch and dinner choices 24 hours a day.
Denny's New & Emerging Markets incentive program is designed to help us recruit exceptional new franchisees to seize valuable market share in new & emerging markets.
Under the program, new franchisees can save up to $1 million by developing 4 new restaurants in new & emerging markets. The estimated savings include reduced: initial fees, royalty rate, marketing fees, market planning fee, store design fees, NRO training, and MGIP (development fees).
With a flexible, cost-effective prototype & best-in-class systems, Denny's is positioned for sustained franchise growth.
The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Denny’s franchise
is from $1,330,525.50 to $2,404,695.50 for a Denny’s Heritage facility;
from $305,000 to $826,000 for a nontraditional Denny’s, including The
Den; and from $1,025,528.50 to $1,659,695.50 for Denny’s within a Travel
Center (these numbers exclude real estate). This includes the initial
franchise fee of $10,000 to $30,000 and the New Restaurant Opening fee
of $0 to $36,000, for a total of $10,000 to $66,000, which must be paid
to the franchisor or affiliate.
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#59 on Franchise Rankings.com
#83 on Franchise 500 for 2021 Not on Franchise 500 for 2020
Full Service Restaurant Franchise Opportunities
Below is a quick comparison of Denny's against other Full Service Restaurant franchises and business opportunities. For an in depth comparison of Denny's with another opportunity including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options click on the name of the company to view the detailed comparison.
| Franchise | Franchise Fee | Royalty | Advertising Fee | Development Costs |
| 5 & Diner | $35,000 | 5% | $250,000-$750,000 | |
| abc Country Restaurants | $50,000 | 4% | 2% | $250,000-$700,000 |
| Albert's Family Restaurant | $25,000 | $280,000-$400,000 | ||
| Another Broken Egg Cafe | $50,000 | 5% | 1% | $505,500-$1,175,500 |
| Applebee's | $35,000 | 4% initially, 5% possible after | not less than 4% | $2,009,038-$8,267,250 |
| Applejack's | $25,000 | 4% | 2% | $250,000-$275,000 |
| Arthur Treacher's | $30,000 | 5% | $145,000-$268,000 | |
| Au Vieux Duluth Express | $30,000-$40,000 | $175,000-$500,000 | ||
| Bar Louie | $50,000 | 5% | 2% local, 1%Nat'l | $923,500-$3,707,333 |
| Baton Rouge Restaurant | $60,000 | 5% | 2% | $1,600,000-$1,800,000 |
| Ben & Florentine Restaurants | $35,000 | 6% | $619,650-$817,800 | |
| Bennigan's Grill & Tavern | $35,000 | 4% | 1% | $1,027,075-$3,588,244 |
| Best of Mediterranean | $20,000 | 4% | $126,300-$574,700 | |
| Big Boy Restaurants | $40,000 | 4% | 1% local +2% Nat'l | $861,800-$3,568,000 |
| Black Bear Diners | $55,000 | 4.5% | 1% | $1,133,800-$2,114,200 |
| Black Rock Bar & Grill | $50,000 | 4% | 1% | $1,519,940-$2,957,625 |
| Bombshells Restaurant | $50,000 | 5.5% | $1,731,000-$3,086,000 | |
| Boscos | N/A | $827,000-$994,000 | ||
| Browns Socialhouse | $50,000 | 6% | $2,000,000-$2,500,000 | |
| Casey's | $60,000 | 5% | 4% | $500,000-$1,600,000 |
| Chocolate Bar | N/A | $250,000-$500,000 | ||
| Cool Hand Luke's | $50,000 | $373,000-$1,817,500 | ||
| Cool-de-Sac | $75,000 | 6% | $858,700-$1,988,667 | |
| Cosi Inc | $40,000 | 5% | 2% | $762,600-$899,800 |
| Country Kitchen | $40,000 | 4% | 3% local + 1% Int'l | $425,000-$1,685,000 |
| Dunn's Famous | $20,000-$50,000 | 5% | 2%Nat'l+1% Local | $150,000-$800,000 |
| Eggspectation | $50,000 | 5% | 2% Nat'l 1% local | $650,000-$1,500,000 |
| Einstein Bros. Bagels | $35,000 | 5% | 5% | $138,550-$935,850 |
| Elmer's | $40,000 | 4% | 1% | $712,000-$3,209,500 |
| Fresh To Order | $30,000 | $489,500-$646,500 | ||
| Friendly Banners | $30,000 | 4% | 2% | $450,000 |
| Friendly's Restaurants | $30,000-$35,000 | 4% | 3.5% | $498,500-$1,950,000 |
| Gandolfo's New York Delicatessen | $25,000 | 6% | 2% local +1% Nat'l | $302,450-$558,950 |
| George Webb Restaurants | $250,000 | $402,000-$850,000 | ||
| Giorgio Restaurants | $25,000-$50,000 | 4.5%-7% | $175,000-$500,000 | |
| Golden Corral | $50,000 | 4% | 2.4% | $2,700,795-$7,037,915 |
| Golden Griddle | $25,000 | 5% | $100,000-$450,000 | |
| Great Steak | $30,000 | 6% | $155,900-$520,300 | |
| Hard Rock Cafe | $350,000-$750,000 | $2,995,000-$4,910,000 | ||
| Hard Times Cafe | $30,000 | $449,000-$1,000,000 | ||
| Hooters | $75,000 | 5% | 2.5% | $956,500-$4,275,000 |
| Houlihan's | $40,000 | 4% | $1,600,000-$4,300,000 | |
| House of Jazz | $75,000 | 5% | 2% | $750,000-$1,200,000 |
| Humpty's | $30,000 | 5% | 2% | $495,000-$695,000 |
| I Dream of Falafel | $25,000 | 5% | 3% | $337,811-$470,302 |
| IHOP | $40,000-$50,000 | 4.5% | 3.5% | $414,866-$3,374,043 |
| IL FORNELLO | $35,000 | 4% | 1% | $100,000-$700,000 |
| Indigo Joe's | $30,000 | 5% | 1.5% | $1,200,000-$1,300,000 |
| Kayson's Grille | $25,000 | 5% | 1% | $489,700-$618,000 |
| Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants | $75,000 | 5% | $49,789,087-$70,127,050 | |
| L and L Franchise | $30,000 | 3%-4% | 1%-2% | $133,700-$535,000 |
| La Madeleine | $40,000 | 5% | 2.5% | $1,249,362-$3,088,747 |
| La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill | $25,000-$50,000 | 5% | 3% | $189,550-$992,590 |
| Manhattan Bagel | $25,000 | 5% | 5% | $481,000-$705,000 |
| Manny's Grill | $25,000 | 5% | $171,235-$516,652 | |
| Max & Erma's | $40,000 | 4% | $622,500-$3,100,000 | |
| McAlister's Deli | $15,000-$35,000 | 5% | 3% | $398,000-$2,094,200 |
| Miami Grill | $30,000 | 6% | 3% | $175,000-And Up |
| Naples Tomato | $30,000 | 5% | 5% | $1,353,000-$1,892,500 |
| Original Joe's | $39,000 | 5% | 2% | $950,000 |
| Palapas Restaurants | $30,000 | 5% | $750,000-$2,000,000 | |
| Pantry, The | $40,000 | $450,000-$600,000 | ||
| Perkins | $40,000 | 4% | $1,557,975-$2,742,975 | |
| Perko's Cafe Grill | $35,000 | 4% | $292,500-$1,357,000 | |
| Quaker Steak & Lube | $40,000 | 5% | 3% | $1,800,000-$3,700,000 |
| Red Hot & Blue | $45,000 | 5% | $380,700-$1,000,000 | |
| Rhapsody's | $42,500-$56,000 | 6% | 1 - 3% | $565,000-And Up |
| Ricky's | $45,000 | 4.5% | 3% | $800,000-$950,000 |
| Ricky's All Day Grill | $45,000 | 5% | 3% | $300,000-And Up |
| Roy Rogers | $30,000 | 5% | 3% | $767,250-$1,580,950 |
| Ruby Tuesday | $35,000 | 4% of gross sales | 1.5% of gross sales | $1,559,650-$3,877,400 |
| Salsarita's Fresh Cantina | $30,000 | 5% | 1% Nat'l 1.5% Local | $283,150-$563,900 |
| Sam & Louie's N Y Pizza | $25,000 | 5% | $331,500-$474,700 | |
| Sammy J Peppers | $50,000 | $750,000-$1,500,000 | ||
| Seacrets | $45,000 | 6% and 10% from hotel | 1% local | $1,639,333-$3,061,667 |
| Shingle Inn Cafes | N/A | $250,001-$450,000 | ||
| Shoney's Restaurants | $25,000-$35,000 | 2.5-3.5% | $568,000-$2,800,000 | |
| Smitty's Restaurants | $35,000 | $400,000-$600,000 | ||
| Soul De Cuba Cafe | $65,000 | 6% | $160,350-$487,000 | |
| Soul Fixins' Restaurant | $30,000 | 5% | $274,000-$524,000 | |
| South Philly Steak & Fries | $25,000 | $292,500-$464,500 | ||
| Symposium Cafe | $40,000 | 4% | 1% | $625,000-$675,000 |
| T.G.I. Friday's | N/A | $1,000,000-$3,000,000 | ||
| Taste Of Mediterranean | $12,000-$20,000 | $1,000. a month, Flat Fee. | 2% | $99,000-And Up |
| Tin Star Restaurant | $20,000-$35,000 | 4% | $500,000 | |
| Twin Peaks | $50,000 | 5% | 3% | $1,309,800-$2,365,900 |
| Uccello's Ristorante, Pizzeria & Sports Lounge | $50,000 | 5% | 5% | $1,332,100-$1,958,333 |
| uWink | $50,000 | 4% + 2% Technology Fee | 1% | $1,645,000-$3,472,000 |
| Village Inn Restaurants | $40,000 | 4% | 1%local +0.5%Nat'l | $963,000-$2,570,000 |
| Western Sizzlin | $30,000 | 3% | $811,000-$2,300,000 | |
| White Hen Pantry | $30,000 | Varies | $52,400-$225,200 | |
| White Spot Restaurants | $75,000 | $900,000-And Up | ||
| Wimpys Diner | $30,000 | 4% | 2% | $250,000-$500,000 |
| Winger's Grill & Bar | $35,000 | 4% | $150,000-$550,000 | |
| Zaxby's | $35,000 | 6% | 2.87%-5% | $343,200-$695,200 |