Dive Brief:
- Denny’s is offering a temporary value menu, called 5 Slams Starting at $5, through Oct. 28, according to a press release issued Wednesday.
- The menu consists of three new slams and the brand’s existing Super Slam and Everyday Value Slam. The items are priced between $5 and $10 depending on location, according to the press release.
- The family dining brand is in need of a sales bump, after reporting a 1.3% decrease in same-store sales last quarter, while other casual dining chains like Applebee’s, Chili’s and Olive Garden all posted growth in comps.
Dive Insight:
Recurrent value plays with Slams — individual menu items that function as full meals — have become an important part of Denny’s effort to improve its value perception.
Prior to recent Slam promotions, Denny’s value play focused primarily on its $2-$4-$6-$8 value promotion, which relaunched last August. But CEO Kelli Valade said on the chain’s Q2 2025 earnings call that consumers were effectively “hacking our value” with the low-cost items and add-ons offered under that discount. Since then, the $2-$4-$6-$8 has been retired, at least for now, and the chain has pivoted to a value approach based on temporary promotions for its Slams.
“We're just trying to iterate and really just being nimble and flexible, but doing what the guest needs us to do right now at the same time, either … re-engineering $2-$4-$6-$8 or … looking for that next everyday value proposition that you can always find on the menu that the guests can count on us for,” Valade said.
In June, the brand offered four Slams under $10, including seasonal options alongside the Super Slam. That value play kicked the incidence of the Super Slam to a record high 10%, Valade said.
Rob Verostek, CFO at the chain, said overall value incidence topped 20%.
“There is no doubt that we needed to lean into value, but we also did it in a smart way, which resulted in us driving enough traffic during the quarter to offset the discount provided to our guests,” Verostek said.
Denny’s is running its fall LTOs — Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes, a Bourbon Bacon Sirloin Steak, a Chocolate Cinnamon Milkshake — alongside its current value plays.
