Iconic diner chain announces buy one, get one deal in an effort to boost slumping sales

Daily Mail​

08-05-2025

Denny's has slowly bounced back from a rocky quarter thanks to a fan-favorite BOGO deal.
The struggling restaurant chain is offering a buy one, get one for $1 deal on its Grand Slam or All-American Slam breakfasts.
The special is available for all customers who dine-in at a participating location.
The deal, which began on March 24, will be available until May 9.
The deal was introduced after the restaurant chain's same-store sales fell 3 percent in the first quarter of the year.
The same-store sales were the Denny's worst performance in four years, which executives claimed was because of customers cutting back on spending.
The chain has been struggling in recent years, and is in the process of closing 180 underperforming locations.
Despite high inflation and tariffs that have left customers 'shaken,' the chain said the BOGO deal has helped to partially make up for its lackluster financial performance.
Denny's saw a significant sales boost in April after nearly 70 percent of its customers took advantage of the BOGO deal.
Around 4 to 5 percent of its customers are still ordering it, which executives confirmed resulted in increased traffic at restaurants.
The amount of traffic the deal racked in has helped the chain offset the discount.
'We've been very pleased with this promotion and know that it's critical to our guests that really need compelling value offers during this time of uncertainty,' said CEO Kelli Valade.
'We pulled it through because we could see that given the choppy environment and the competitor activity around value, we needed to come in with something a bit stronger.'
Denny's other popular offerings are foods from its $2 $4 $6 $8 value meal, which was resurrected last summer after a four-year hiatus.
While the deals have put smiles on some customers' faces, others have been frustrated by the chain's decision to add surcharges for egg-based dishes. Denny's confirmed the drastic change weeks after Waffle House also added an egg surcharge.
Both restaurants added the surcharge in response to rising egg prices due to a deadly strain of bird flu.
However the first quarter of 2025 was not a total bust for the struggling diner chain.
It managed to hit a home run with its $111.6 million operating revenue, a slight increase compared to last year's fourth quarter.
It also completed 6 location remodels, 5 of them being at company-owned restaurants.
Besides the BOGO deal, the chain noted a sales boost at its growth brand Keke's Breakfast Café, and earnings from takeout and delivery orders helped with profits.
Denny's currently has an outstanding debt of $276 million and hopes the closures will 'improve franchisee cash flow' while allowing them to 'reinvest into traffic-driving initiatives.'
The restaurant chain currently expects this year's same-store sales to be a negative 2 percent to positive 1 percent despite its recent extra earnings.