12 BBQ-Themed Promotions That Fire Up Guests
Check out ideas for boosting sales and traffic with a dozen creative campaigns that play up Americans’ love of barbecue.
Allison Perlik, Senior Editor -- Restaurants and Institutions, 8/21/2008 4:06:00 PM
Operators don’t have to be barbecue-centric to know that a saucy dose of good ’cue is good for the soul. The last weeks of summer are an ideal time to take advantage of consumers’ year-round cravings for the all-American cuisine with limited-time specials and regular menu features that celebrate barbecue’s sweet and smoky, hot and tangy goodness. Here are a dozen ideas to spark inspiration:
1. Show ’em how it’s done. The “Friday's Awesome BBQ Sweepstakes” from Carrollton, Texas-based T.G.I. Friday’s is helping the casual-dining chain promote seven new menu items that feature a barbecue-sauce recipe that won a prestigious national competition. Customers can enter online for a grand prize that includes a trip for two to a world-championship invitational barbecue competition, an expert barbecue kit, a meeting with chef Guy Fieri of Food Network fame and a $200 Friday’s gift card.
2. Give more for less. At casual-dining barbecue spot Sweet Baby Ray's in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village, Ill., the All-You-Can-Eat Barbecue Buffet starts every Monday at 5 p.m. Finger-licking fare includes rib tips, pulled pork, jerk chicken, barbecue beans and cornbread. The cost is $9.99 for adults and $7.99 for children 12 and under. Guests craving a little something extra can add on a single 1/3 slab of ribs for $5.
3. Share the love. The annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in New York City, hosted by Union Square Hospitality Group, brings together the nation’s top pit masters for two days of tastings, seminars and cooking demos. Besides local names such as Ken Callaghan from Blue Smoke and Pete Daversa from Hill Country, this year’s bill included notable names including Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Ala., and Mike Mills from 17th Street Bar & Grill inMurphysboro, Ill.
4. Discover Far Eastern accents. Contrary to popular belief, America doesn’t hold a monopoly on barbecue. This month, family-owned Sun Wah BBQ in Chicago is offering a “Chinese Barbecue Demystified” class. For $20, guests receive a tasting, a kitchen tour and lessons on traditional barbecue methods and nontraditional variations.
5. Add a multimedia spin. This summer, Columbus, Ohio-based Bob Evans’ “Bob-B-Q” campaign centers on the chain’s signature Wildfire sauce. The menu features pulled-pork or barbecue-chicken knife-and-fork sandwiches, baby-back ribs, roasted chicken, a ribs-and-chicken combo and the Wildfire Chicken Salad. At bobevansbob-b-q.com, visitors can check out weekly barbecue recipes, win $10 restaurant gift cards and follow the progress of the Wildfire tour, which stopped in seven cities for store celebrations including outdoor games, raffles, charitable donations and a chance to win a summer’s worth of Bob-B-Q meals.
6. Get into the spirit. Two American classics will join forces at the BBQ & Bourbon dinner at Boston’s Tremont 647 in October. A bourbon tasting kicks off Chef-owner Andy Husband’s (r.) four-course dinner, during which guests can choose from among a list of bourbon cocktails, including mint juleps, Bourbon Belles and classic Sazeracs. The $45-per-person price tag includes one cocktail at the reception and the bourbon tasting as well as hors d’oeuvres and dinner.
7. Dress it up. On the Sunday BBQ Specials menu at Wilshire Restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif., classic dishes get an upscale bent. The regularly changing menu might feature entrées such as Kurobuta pork, Kobe tri-tip beef and baby-back ribs paired with horseradish-spiked coleslaw and market-driven sides.
8. Keep ’em coming back. Every Sunday is BBQ Night at South City Kitchen’s two Atlanta locations. Priced at $19.95 for adults and $9.95 for children 12 and younger, the menu spotlights locally raised grass-fed beef and Berkshire pork. Diners choose an entrée (slow-smoked brisket, molasses-and-spice crusted pork shoulder or country style ribs), a sauce (Carolina-style mustard, vinegar or sweet red barbecue) and their choice of seasonal sides.
9. Mix and match. At Tampa, Fla.-based Outback Steakhouse, barbecue headlines the “Summer Days Aussie Craves” menu, available through Sept. 9. The BBQ Mixed Grill brings together three favorites: grilled chicken coated in barbecue sauce, baby-back ribs and fried coconut shrimp, accompanied by green beans and corn on the cob.
10. Big flavor, small packages. Summer BBQ Fridays at seasonally and locally focused bakery-café Clementine in Los Angeles run from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Besides grilled favorites such as hot dogs and brats, the menu includes mini barbecue-brisket or barbecue-chicken sandwiches, plus combo plates and classic barbecue sides.
11. Go whole hog. A whole rotisserie suckling pig starred at the third-annual BBQ & Bingo night at wine-centric restaurant Bin 36 in Chicago. For $50 per person, guests dug into summer-inspired barbecue favorites paired with wines, beer and cocktails while playing bingo for prizes.
12. Spice up happy hour. During Weber Grill Restaurants’ Barbecue & Bourbon Fest, Smokin’ Hot Happy Hour at the four Chicago-area locations featured $2 mix-and-match sliders that covered four diverse barbecue regions: Carolina-style pulled chicken, Kansas City-style pulled pork, Texas-style beef brisket and Memphis-style grilled bologna. A selection of complementary bourbon and beer specials helped wash it all down.
View All Blogs
