Can Denny's bounce back from decline? As investors spend $620M to take the brand private, a lot is riding on the deal

For decades, Denny’s was the iconic U.S. diner destination — the go-to spot for inexpensive coffee, late-night meals and highway-side comfort.

But that’s each changed successful the past fewer years. While the helpings are inactive generous, the once-ubiquitous concatenation has been shrinking arsenic Denny’s struggles with rising paper prices, declining lawsuit postulation and a question of edifice closures.

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Now Denny’s is being sold to a consortium of private-equity and franchise investors successful a $620-million woody that volition instrumentality the marque backstage (1).

Can the concatenation past the transition? Here’s what Denny’s is up against and wherefore the concatenation believes going backstage is its past champion hope.

Denny's concern plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic (2) arsenic galore customers turned to takeout and transportation and younger consumers opted for faster and trendier meal options.

The concatenation has yet to recover. By the 3rd 4th of 2025, income astatine Denny’s locations unfastened astatine slightest a twelvemonth were down astir 2.9% (3).

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The institution acknowledged it had shuttered dozens of underperforming stores and planned to adjacent 150 much (4) — a important contraction for a concatenation that erstwhile seemed intolerable to miss on U.S. highways.

At the aforesaid time, the prices successful Denny’s paper bespeak higher nutrient costs. A viral New York Post communicative highlighted a subreddit station connected the terms of a Denny’s Lumberjack Slam, which soared from $5.99 a decennary agone to $17.99 (5).

“We utilized to person aged radical travel successful each the clip for 2 coffees and 2 Grand Slams and would permission with nether a $10 bill,” 1 erstwhile Denny’s worker wrote.

Now, guests are walking retired with $70 bills — hardly the terms constituent that defined Denny’s for generations.

So tin going backstage prevention the chain? Denny’s executives importune it volition supply the superior needed to accelerate remodeling efforts and amended lawsuit acquisition for a turnaround.

That’s due to the fact that the consortium buying the endeavor — TriArtisan Capital Advisors, Treville Capital and Yadav Enterprises, a large Denny’s franchisee — valued Denny’s astatine a premium.