Franchises · 2026 FDD · Wisconsin DFI filing 641512
Denny's franchise cost, unit revenue and closures
Opening a Denny's cost $1,618,575 to $3,055,925 in the 2026 FDD; the median unit sold $1,829,472 in the franchisor's fiscal 2025, 53 weeks figures; 15.2% of franchised units closed over three years.
Franchisor: DFO, LLC. FDD issued 2026-04-30, amended 2026-05-20. Fiscal year end 2025-12-31. Figures re-found on the cited page 2026-11-04.
What a unit costs to open
Denny's Diner 2.0 facility, exclusive of land (printed as $1,618,574.75 to $3,055,924.75).
What a unit pays the franchisor
| Initial franchise fee | $30,000 | Item 5, p. 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty | Royalty Fee 4.5% of Gross Sales for a standard restaurant, up to 7% under development incentive programs, weekly | Item 6, p. 12 |
| Advertising fund | Brand Building Fee 3% of Gross Sales, plus a local advertising cooperative fee set by the coop | Item 6, p. 12 |
traditional Denny's; $10,000 for The Den by Denny's.
4.5% is the standard rate (Note 2); incentive programs raise it to as much as 7%.
What a unit sells
Item 19 is optional and is the franchisor's own representation. It is shown here as filed, with the franchisor's measure, sample and period, and nothing is estimated where it is missing.
| Measure | Net Sales, fiscal 2025 (53 weeks), traditional franchised restaurants open all 12 months (Table 19-1) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sample | 1,178 units: 1,178 domestic traditional franchised restaurants open all 12 months of 2025 (of 1,212 at year end); excludes 11 closed at least a month, new openings and The Den restaurants; 2024 (1,237, average $1,918,224) and 2023 (1,304, average $1,868,092) columns alongside, plus same-store sales | |
| Period | fiscal 2025, 53 weeks | |
| High / low | $4,393,305 / $553,769 | |
Revenue to investment
Formula: Item 19 median / Item 7 Diner 2.0 total (midpoint, low, high). A ratio of 1.00 means one year of median unit revenue equals the investment; it says nothing about profit.
How many units open and close
| Franchised units | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of year | 1,380 | 1,342 | 1,273 |
| Opened | 17 | 14 | 12 |
| Terminated | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Not renewed | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ceased, other reasons | 55 | 83 | 68 |
| End of year | 1,342 | 1,273 | 1,212 |
| Company-owned, end of year | 65 | 61 | 62 |
Item 20, Table 1 p. 70; Table 3 totals p. 76.
Closures are the franchisor's Item 20 counts of units terminated, not renewed, or ceased for other reasons, summed over 2023–2025 and divided by franchised units at the start of 2023. Units the franchisor reacquired are not closures. This is an Item 20 count, not a failure rate.
the 2023 franchised row prints 1,380 to 1,342 while the total row prints 1,446 to 1,407 (1,342 + 65 is 1,407).
Source and method
Every figure above comes from the Denny's Franchise Disclosure Document issued 2026-04-30 and amended 2026-05-20, as filed with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (filing 641512, registry record). The PDF is the franchisor's and is not hosted here; the item and page beside each figure is where to check it. Item 7 and Item 20 tables were read cell by cell; Item 19 was read by hand; each Item 20 year was checked to sum (start + opened − exits = end) before it was recorded.
Informational only, not professional, legal or investment advice. Unitnomics computes from the filing and does not advise on, rank, or refer to any franchise. Last reviewed: November 2026.