How Dine Brands Simplified Permitting Across 70+ Projects with GreenLite’s Scalable Service Model
15 business days
from application submission to issuance
0
Stop Work Orders across GreenLite-managed jobs
70+
Projects assessed across 60+ jurisdictions
Share:
“GreenLite brings order, accountability, and speed to a complicated process and has become an extension of our construction team. We finally have a permitting partner we can count on.”
Bill O’Keefe
Vice President, Construction, Dine Brands Global
THE PROBLEM
Dine Brands needed a permitting partner who could bring structure to a permitting pipeline that was difficult to manage at scale.
Dine Brands Global, the parent company of Applebee’s, IHOP, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, operates over 3,500 U.S. locations across a primarily franchise-driven model. In 2024, the company took ownership of dozens of Applebee’s and IHOP locations, and with that came the urgent need to remodel and reopen dozens of sites.
But permitting had long been a thorn in their side.
The Dine Brands team was managing 100+ projects at once across three restaurant brands, yet each faced the same painful realities:
- No clear roadmap for what permits were needed where, when, or why
- 90+ day delays, with some permits dragging out over a year
- Projects held up by stop work orders due to missing or incorrect permit filings
- Communication breakdowns between architects, PMs, and AHJs
“Everyone was doing their piece, but no one was managing the big picture.”
With so many projects in the pipeline, Dine Brands needed a system to evaluate what was needed where. Some locations didn’t even realize permits were required until it was too late. Franchisees and corporate teams were operating in silos, and internal teams had no visibility into which projects were progressing and which were stuck.
THE SOLUTION
GreenLite has become the single point of truth for permitting across Dine Brands’ portfolio.
GreenLite kicked off the partnership with a full-scale permitting audit of over 70 projects, evaluating the status, requirements, and risks across all projects. We clarified which sites required permits, what departments needed to be involved, and what documentation would be required to avoid delays or shutdowns.
From there, GreenLite has taken over end-to-end permitting for 45+ projects, becoming Dine Brands’ centralized partner across jurisdictions and project types.
GreenLite is delivering:
- Jurisdiction-specific roadmaps and AHJ checklists for each site
- Proactive document reviews to catch issues before submission
- Full permit submittals with all required documents, correctly formatted
- Weekly stakeholder coordination across PMs, architects, and contractors
- Franchisee and corporate dashboards for real-time visibility
- Private Plan Review (PPR) where allowed to bypass city bottlenecks
GreenLite doesn’t just manage permits; they prevent shutdowns. They figured out what permits were missing, clarified scope issues, and protected us from getting hit with stop work orders.
In one project in Missouri, GreenLite reviewed submitted plans the same day, cleared all comments without corrections, and secured permit approval within 4 business days. That level of speed and precision is now being replicated across the entire Dine Brands portfolio.
THE RESULT
GreenLite is replacing fragmented workflows with a scalable permitting system.
15days for building permit approval
Zerostop work orders across Greenlite-managed jobs
70+projects assessed across 60+ jurisdictions
With GreenLite in place, Dine Brands is:
- Eliminating permitting delays on 45+ projects
- Preventing stop work orders in high-risk jurisdictions
- Gaining a clear, centralized process across project teams
Instead of chasing cities or reacting to emergencies, Dine Brands now operates with confidence, supported by a permitting partner who brings structure, speed, and transparency.
What used to be a blind spot is now a reliable process.