After years of steadily growing its off-premises sales mix, South Carolina-based diner chain Denny’s is further expanding its focus beyond the dining room with the launch of its first national catering program.
Announced August 18, the move makes more than 400 Denny’s locations available for corporate catering on third-party catering platform ezCater, with hundreds of additional diner locations slated to follow in the coming weeks. The brand’s catering offering also extends to orders placed directly through Dennys.com.
Introducing the catering program marks the first major initiative of Project Grand Slam, a 24-month strategic roadmap laid out in April by Chris Bode, Denny’s new president and CEO. Under that plan, improving catering and bulk solutions is one of six key pillars for evolving the guest experience and maximizing brand reach.
Bode replaced Anil Yadav, who was serving as interim chief executive after his Yadav Enterprises joined with TriArtisan Capital and Treville Capital Group to acquire Denny’s. That transaction was finalized in January.
“This is more than a new way to order Denny’s; we’re opening a meaningful new growth channel for the brand and our franchisees,” Bode said in an August 18 press release. “With participating restaurants coming online nationwide, we have an opportunity to bring Denny’s breakfast leadership and comfort food to more customers, more occasions and more communities. Our focus now is on disciplined execution and building catering into a lasting part of our restaurant growth strategy.”
Denny’s drew on ezCater’s insights into workplace catering when developing the new catering menu. According to 2026 ezCater data, demand for 36 percent of orderers occurred within the breakfast daypart, less than half the rate of lunch but still a strong-performing category for the platform.
“Breakfast is the most-used search filter on ezCater, making Denny’s a sure favorite for workplace orderers nationwide,” Cindy Klein Roche, chief growth officer at ezCater, said in a press release. “Tapping into corporate catering unlocks a high-value channel for Denny’s franchisees, while giving our workplace customers a delicious way to boost morale and start the workday connected.”
Off-prem orders accounted for 22 percent of Denny’s sales mix through October last year, representing a 1.2 percent increase in systemwide same-restaurant revenue compared to the year prior for the brand, which has roughly 1,500 locations. Denny’s Q2 2025 domestic off-prem sales included about $8,200 per store each week — up about 9.33 percent from the same time in 2024 and 13.89 percent since mid-way through fiscal year 2023.
“Catering has the potential to become a meaningful growth business for Denny’s and its franchisees,” Garren Grieve, chief executive officer of Seaside Dining Group, a multi-unit Denny’s franchisee, said in a release. “It gives our restaurants access to new customers, valuable weekday occasions and recurring business beyond our dining rooms. We have experienced firsthand the strength of what Denny’s has built, and the early response exceeded our expectations. The opportunity is real.”
Beyond catering, the other core pillars of Denny’s Project Grand Slam include culinary and flavor innovation, an enhanced daypart beverage program, diner remodeling, retail brands expansion, and a digital presence transformation.
“With Project Grand Slam, we aren’t just changing the menu, we are changing our trajectory. We are going to innovate in the kitchen, lean into the massive opportunity in catering and ensure our franchise partners have the support they need to deliver four-wall excellence every single day,” Bode said of the strategic plan in an April 13 press release. “The future of Denny’s is about being where our guests are – whether that’s in our dining rooms, through our mobile app or on their grocery shelves.”
