Houlihan's vs Denny's Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Houlihan's vs Denny's including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Houlihan's Franchise
Denny's Franchise
Investment $1,600,000 - $4,300,000$305,000 - $2,404,695
Franchise Fee $40,000$10,000 - $30,000
Royalty Fee 4%4.5%-7%
Advertising Fee -3%-3.5%
Year Founded 19721953
Year Franchised 19941984
Term Of Agreement 20 years20 years
Term Of Agreement 20 years20 years
Renewal Fee $5K$10K for 10 years


Business Experience Requirements

 
Houlihan's Franchise
Denny's Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • Must live in same market being developed

  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • Operations experience

  • Financing Options

     
    Houlihan's Franchise
    Denny's Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/YesNo/Yes
    Start-up Costs No/YesNo/Yes
    Equipment No/YesNo/Yes
    Inventory No/YesNo/Yes
    Receivables No/YesNo/No
    Payroll No/YesNo/No

    Training & Support

     
    Houlihan's Franchise
    Denny's Franchise
    Training -On-The-Job Training: 91 hours Classroom Training: 16 hours Additional Training: At existing Denny's restaurants
    Support Meetings, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperativesPurchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, Regional advertisingCo-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
    Operations Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 78

    Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (80% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    44% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 80

    Absentee Ownership Allowed


    Expansion Plans

     
    Houlihan's Franchise
    Denny's Franchise
    US Expansion YesYes
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion NoYes

    Company Overviews

    About Houlihan's

    Houlihan's has been known for exceptional food at an affordable price since we entered the casual dining segment in 1972. Our menu features a great mix of contemporary pop American cooking - classic dishes reinvented in a fresh modern way and brought to the table with simple, stylish plating and presentations. And then there's the bar. It's always the best place to feel the great energy of Houlihan's. Our bar strategy unites pop culture, trendy premium brands, the newest drinks and vendor insights for a winning combination, resulting in an enviable liquor mix.

    To help us more quickly expand to new markets and trade areas, Houlihan's is seeking sophisticated restaurant operators with experience building out entire markets. At this time, we are not pursuing single-site franchise agreements.

    Our ideal candidate to become a franchise market developer is a successful full-service, multi-unit operator with expertise in one or more large markets (e.g. the top 75 MSAs in the United States). We are seeking entrepreneurial organizations that can thrive in our flexible franchise environment, while having access to growth capital and capital reserves, but experiencing growth constraints with their current restaurant concept(s).

    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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