Denny's vs Friendly's Restaurants Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Denny's Franchise
Friendly's Restaurants Franchise
Investment $305,000 - $2,404,695$498,500 - $1,950,000
Franchise Fee $10,000 - $30,000$30,000 - $35,000
Royalty Fee 4.5%-7%4%
Advertising Fee 3%-3.5%3.5%
Year Founded 19531935
Year Franchised 19841996
Term Of Agreement 20 years20 years
Term Of Agreement 20 years20 years
Renewal Fee $10K for 10 years$5K


Business Experience Requirements

 
Denny's Franchise
Friendly's Restaurants Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • Operations experience

  • Industry experience

  • Financing Options

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

    Training & Support

     
    Denny's Franchise
    Friendly's Restaurants Franchise
    Training On-The-Job Training: 91 hours Classroom Training: 16 hours Additional Training: At existing Denny's restaurants-
    Support Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet PlatformNewsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations
    Marketing Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/appAd slicks, National media
    Operations 44% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 80

    Absentee Ownership Allowed

    Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 62% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)


    Expansion Plans

     
    Denny's Franchise
    Friendly's Restaurants Franchise
    US Expansion YesYes
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion YesNo

    Company Overviews

    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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    About Friendly's Restaurants

    In Springfield, Massachusetts at the height of the Great Depression in 1935, 20 year-old Prestley Blake and his 18 year-old brother Curtis opened an ice cream shop called 'Friendly' that served double-dip cones for 5 cents. The brothers opened a second shop five years later in West Springfield, Massachusetts and added food to the menu. Within a decade, locations opened throughout western Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1988 Donald N. Smith, the company's current CEO, purchased the company and a year later added an 's' to the name, making it 'Friendly's.'

    In May 2000, Friendly's introduced a new food and dessert menu featuring colossal burgers, sandwich wraps, splits, sundaes and Cyclones. Friendly's produces 10 million snack cups and 230,000 gallons of fudge every year. In addition to its restaurants and cafes, Friendly's manufactures a complete line of frozen desserts.