Applebee’s is aiming to boost dine-in traffic during the fall sports season by slashing the price of its boneless Buffalo-flavored chicken wings to 25 cents each.
The casual-dining chain describes the promotion as one of its biggest ever. The deal will be offered for a limited time—not specified by the chain—or until supplies are depleted.
Customers who want the boneless wings delivered or for takeout will apparently play the regular price of $11.49 for an order of 10, or about $1.15 each. There is no limit on how many boneless wings a customer can buy for a quarter to eat on-premise.
Only the Buffalo-flavored variety will be offered for the deep discount. Customers who want a dipping sauce or celery sticks with their bargain-priced wings will be charged extra.
The promotion is a direct challenge to Buffalo Wild Wings, which resurrected its popular Tuesday night offer this summer of two bone-in wings for the price of one. The popular deal contributed to the chain’s financial trouble before it was discontinued.
Buffalo Wild Wings offers two-for-one boneless wings on Thursday nights. Now owned by Inspire Brands, the sports-bar chain recently introduced a new premium burger. Burgers are a signature of Applebee’s.
Applebee’s attributed a 0.5% slip in same-store sales for the second quarter to a decline in dinner visits by bargain-hunting customers. The Dine Brands Global holding says that 20% of its customer base is motivated by price. “Bottom line, when we're aggressive on price, value seekers tend to be with us, and when we're not, they tend to seek a deal elsewhere,” Applebee’s President John Cywinski said at the time.
Casual dining’s largest chain has been on a multiyear drive to win back customers after a disastrous shift upmarket.
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