Denny’s just put a number on its comeback plan: 500 restaurants are getting upgrades in the next year and a half.
Story Snapshot
- Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bode says 500 Denny’s locations are queued for asset upgrades over the next 12 to 18 months.
- The push falls under “Project Grand Slam,” a five-part, 24-month turnaround plan covering menu, facilities, catering, technology, and operations.
- Denny’s is adding artificial intelligence tools for scheduling, food forecasting, and local pricing, plus new point-of-sale systems and tablets.
- The company has already finished more than 200 remodels since the pandemic and expects to open up to 20 new locations soon.
Bode Puts A Hard Number On The Turnaround
Christopher Bode took over as Denny’s president and chief executive officer earlier this year. He told Fox Business the company now has “500 restaurants in the queue to have some type of asset upgrade over the next 12 to 18 months, which is huge for us.” That is not a vague promise.
It is a specific target tied to a specific timeline, and it builds on more than 200 remodels the chain already finished since the pandemic hit its business hard.
The scale matters because diner chains rarely move this fast. Denny’s is telling investors, franchisees, and customers that the fixes are already in motion, not just on a whiteboard somewhere in corporate headquarters.
Denny's targets 500 restaurant upgrades as diner chain invests in AI, new technology: 'Project Grand Slam' https://t.co/LtOgo4AL5f
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) September 30, 2026
What Project Grand Slam Actually Covers
The upgrade wave sits inside “Project Grand Slam,” Bode’s five-part, 24-month strategy built around menu innovation, facility upgrades, catering, technology, and operational improvements.
Denny’s first announced the roadmap back in April, when the company named Bode chief executive officer and described the plan as a way to “modernize the business trajectory through culinary innovation, digital transformation and a renewed commitment to operational excellence”.
That original announcement also named catering as a growth opportunity, with Bode saying the company wanted to “lean into the massive opportunity in catering”.
Denny’s followed through in August, calling catering “the first major initiative launched under Project Grand Slam” and framing it as a new growth platform for franchisees.
Artificial Intelligence Moves Into The Back Office
Denny’s is leaning on artificial intelligence to understand customer behavior, improve labor scheduling, sharpen food forecasting, streamline internal communication, and adjust menu prices based on local markets.
That mirrors a pattern across the restaurant industry, where AI adoption often starts with scheduling, reporting, and inventory forecasting because those tools cut costs without disrupting the dining room.
Alongside the software changes, Denny’s is rolling out new point-of-sale systems, table-side tablets, and an upgraded mobile app. These are the tools guests will actually touch, so any early stumbles with checkout screens or app glitches would show up fast in customer complaints. The company is betting the upside outweighs that risk.
Remodels, New Stores, And The Bigger Picture
Separate reporting says Denny’s expects to upgrade as many as 350 restaurants and open up to 20 new locations within the next year. That figure sits inside the larger 500-site queue Bode described, suggesting the company is moving on multiple fronts at once rather than waiting for one phase to finish before starting the next.
Denny’s has spent recent years dealing with closures and a shrinking footprint, so this remodel push doubles as a public statement of confidence. A diner chain built on late-night breakfast and roadside familiarity is now betting that fresh paint, new screens, and smarter software can pull customers back through the door.
Why This Push Looks Familiar Across The Industry
Denny’s is not inventing a new playbook. Casual-dining chains facing softer traffic often pair store remodels with technology upgrades and a turnaround story, because those are the levers management can pull fastest across a franchise system.
McDonald’s recently committed billions toward a similar modernization push, showing this approach is now standard practice among legacy chains trying to reset their brand image and win back lapsed customers.
For Denny’s, the next 12 to 18 months will show whether 500 planned upgrades translate into busier booths and stronger sales. The company has set a clear target and a public deadline, which gives customers and franchisees a real benchmark to watch rather than another round of corporate promises.
