Acquisitions (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Mar. 27, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 28, 2018 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Restaurants acquired from franchisees	0	5
Purchase price allocation of reacquired franchise rights	$ 0	$ 5,315
Purchase price allocation of property	0	1,029
Purchase price allocation of goodwill	0	1,574
Total purchase price to reacquire franchised restaurants	0	7,918
Capital leases recorded related to acquired franchise restaurants	$ 0	$ 2,409
Real Estate [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Real estate acquired	2	0
Purchase price allocation of property	$ 4,706	$ 0

Number of pieces of real estate acquired.

No definition available.

Name:	denn_RealEstateAcquired
Namespace Prefix:	denn_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of consideration transferred, consisting of acquisition-date fair value of assets transferred by the acquirer, liabilities incurred by the acquirer, and equity interest issued by the acquirer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 30
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109124213&loc=d3e6613-128477

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744584&loc=d3e6927-128479

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 30
-Paragraph 7
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109124213&loc=d3e6578-128477

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of capital lease obligation, assumed at the acquisition date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84161108&loc=d3e4845-128472

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedCapitalLeaseObligation
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of increase in assets, excluding financial assets, lacking physical substance with a definite life, from an acquisition.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66006027&loc=d3e16265-109275

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinitelivedIntangibleAssetsAcquired1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of increase in asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized resulting from a business combination.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=108376223&loc=d3e13816-109267

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GoodwillAcquiredDuringPeriod
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of acquisition of long-lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale. Examples include, but are not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentAdditions
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The number of franchises purchased during the period when there are significant changes in franchisor-owned outlets or franchised outlets during the period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 952
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109207840&loc=SL51750552-203207

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/otherTransitionRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 952
-SubTopic 605
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=68064525&loc=d3e68639-108044

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_SignificantChangesFranchisesPurchasedDuringPeriod
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByAssetClassAxis=us-gaap_RealEstateMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: