Restaurants Offering More Meal Deals

Casual dining restaurants are cutting back prices. The newest participant will be T.G.I Friday's as reported in the USA Today article, T.G.I Friday's joins bargain dining $5-meal club. The article also mentioned that Chili's has introduced a $7 dollar menu, which I've seen heavily advertised on TV.

The article reports that the casual dining industry saw same store sales drop 4.9% in March, 2009. Offering meals at lower price points is one way entice customers back into the restaurants.

The $5 price point for menu items started with Subway, with their $5 foot long promotion. I must admit that we increased our frequency of eating at Subway during the promotion. For us, two Subway foot longs were an economical alternative to pizza or other convenience dining options.

We're probably not as likely to take advantage of the Chili's $7 or the Friday's $5 meal deals, since we haven't eaten there much in the past. Also, we consider them more sit down dinner options, and we prefer to go to our usual choices, especially when they have specials such as coupon discounts. However, for many other casual diners, the $5-$7 meal deals will be a great help for the entertainment budget.

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This is not financial or dining out advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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