Denny's hit a grand slam Tuesday with its free, nationwide breakfast offer.

Despite a chilly morning, lines spilled out the door before dawn at Denny's restaurants across metro Denver with people eager to tuck into the hot freebie - a "Grand Slam" breakfast - from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The gratis meal deal - pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage - appeared to be working, drawing in not just regulars but people who hadn't been to Denny's since they pulled college all- nighters.

The meal usually goes for $5.99.

"I guess people watched the Super Bowl," a man joked outside the Denny's at Alameda Avenue and Santa Fe Drive.

Denny's promoted the offer with TV spots during the Super Bowl Sunday.

The Spartanburg, S.C.-based company said it ended the giveaway, as anticipated, having served up 2 million free Grand Slam meals. Each restaurant was expected to churn out about 130 Grand Slams an hour.

"We were talking about how the food is a little better than everyone remembers," said Tony Nichols, 29, who got up at 4:45 a.m. to grab breakfast with his brother, Rob Nichols, 34, and Rob's fiancee, Andie Byrne, 32.

"I wonder if they're thinking, 'OK, we've improved our food vendors and our cooking. We're trying to let people know that we taste better now,' " Tony Nichols added.

"And the customer service has been excellent," Byrne chimed in.

As if on cue, regional manager Chad Collins popped in to ask: "Is everything good?"

"It's delicious," Byrne replied.

"And it tastes better when it's free, huh?" Collins quipped.

"Yeah!" the trio agreed.

"We were actually saying that we should probably do this once a month," Byrne said. "It's just kind of a good family thing to go have breakfast and get together."

At the next table, some young buddies were sleepy-eyed but hungry.

"It's really early," croaked Bobby Morse, 23, a night-shift cook at the Breckenridge Brewery. "We went to bed two hours ago."

"It got us out of bed. So obviously, free breakfast is worth something," David Stinson, 24, said. "But it's not something you see often, that's for sure."

What were they doing up so late?

"Just hanging out, have a sixer," Morse said.

A waitress asked, "What can I get for you?"

"Oh, you know," Shawn Mitchell, 23, replied to laughter.

At a corner table, four friends were reconnecting with a tradition that's been lost in hectic modern lives: the sit-down breakfast.

"I think, for all of us, if we could spend more time and come and relax (over breakfast) with our families or a friend and get ready for a good day, it would be wonderful," said Clara Mays. "But with busy lives and everything, there's just no way."

But Mays and her pals may try to get back into a monthly Denny's habit. "Everybody loves Denny's food," she said.

Her friend Brent added: "I haven't been to Denny's in a long time. It used to be a thing I did in college with friends."

All this was music to busy manager Collins' ears.

"It amazing. At 5:45 a.m. nobody was here. By 5:47 a.m., we had a full house and people just coming in the door."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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