Denny's is targeting upgrades at roughly 500 restaurants through a remodeling and technology initiative the company has branded "Project Grand Slam," according to Fox Business.

The program pairs a large-scale refresh of the diner chain's physical footprint with investment in artificial intelligence and other new restaurant-level technology. The 500-unit target makes the project one of the most extensive remodel commitments in the family-dining segment in recent years, touching a substantial share of the brand's systemwide estate.

The initiative signals where Denny's management sees the levers for traffic and margin in family dining: updated physical assets on one side, and back-of-house and guest-facing automation on the other. AI investment in particular has spread across the full-service and family-dining categories over the past two years, as operators look to compress labor cost — typically among the largest line items on a casual or family dining P&L — and to speed order handling at the counter and phone channel.

For a chain of Denny's scale, a 500-restaurant upgrade program also carries implications for franchisees, who fund much of remodel spending in franchised systems and must weigh capital outlay against projected sales lifts. Remodels in the segment have historically been justified by average check and traffic gains in refreshed units, and operators typically prioritize high-volume markets for the earliest waves of construction.

The Fox Business report did not specify the rollout timeline, per-unit remodel cost, or which AI applications Denny's will deploy first. The company has framed "Project Grand Slam" as a combined brand and technology play rather than a standalone decor refresh, suggesting the initiative will be judged on whether upgraded units deliver measurable sales and labor-efficiency improvements across the system.