Casual dining chain restaurants are struggling right now, and big names like TGI Fridays, Applebee’s, and their competitors are offering big deals to get people in the door. While there are a few spots bucking the trend, many sit-down chains have been closing left and right since the COVID-19 Pandemic, with Applebee’s shuttering dozens of locations in 2023, Red Lobster filing for bankruptcy and cutting locations in 2024, and TGI Fridays declaring bankruptcy and closing locations just a few months later.
As mid-budget restaurants that cater to value-conscious consumers, many of these brands have been struggling with high food costs that have outpaced the already high rate of inflation. This has led to a wave of shocking good deals at some of these spots, such as Applebee’s 2025 all-you-can-eat deal for $15.99, and TGI Fridays offering meal deals at only $9.99 a pop. Now, it seems like one slightly more successful chain has caught on to the big value trend, because, according to a release shared with Tasting Table, Buffalo Wild Wings is launching its own deal with a new endless appetizer menu.
Starting on Friday, June 27, 2025, Buffalo Wild Wings will have Bottomless Apps available for only $9.99. Customers who order the deal will get to order two appetizers at a time, choosing from five of B-Dub’s favorites: Fried Pickles, Onion Rings, Mozzarella Sticks, Chips and Salsa, and Hatch Queso. So, you won’t be getting any of the chain’s popular wings, but if you are a fan of Buffalo Wild Wings’ non-chicken dishes, it’s still a big discount.
Buffalo Wild Wings hopes to bring dine-in customers back
The Buffalo Wild Wings endless appetizer deal will be limited to dine-in only, but there is no limit to the time of day, with a spokesperson for the company saying it will be available “all day, every day.” The one downside, however, is that this every day deal won’t last every month, and while there is no defined cut-off date, the Bottomless Apps menu will only be available for a limited time.
This attempt to draw customers back to restaurants comes at a time when Buffalo Wild Wings is shifting its business strategy a bit. While it has not had anywhere near the fall-off that some competitors, such as Applebee’s and TGI Fridays, have seen, the chain that was once one of the fastest-growing in the field has started seeing its sit-down business slightly shrink in recent years.
In response, it has gone all-in on its quick-service, take-out focused Wingstop competitor Buffalo Wild Wings GO, almost doubling the number of locations to 140 by the start of this year. But Buffalo Wild Wings is still the sixth largest sit-down chain in the U.S., with over 1,300 locations, so getting people to come in and chill for a while is still the core part of its business. With a price as low as $9.99, this new deal could be a big test for just how far the demand for casual dining chains has really fallen.
