Loyalty apps and drive-thru menus are stacked with buy-one offers before the celebration wraps up at midnight.
A Nationwide Obsession
Few foods unite American appetites quite like a cheeseburger, and Friday gives fans an official reason to indulge. Survey data from YouGov places cheeseburgers among the country’s most cherished dishes, trailing only grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries in overall popularity, and running neck and neck with the plain hamburger for third place. The numbers back up the affection: tracking firm Circana found that Americans ordered roughly 20 cheeseburgers apiece from restaurants over the year ending this past July, adding up to nearly 6.9 billion burgers nationwide. Men reportedly out-eat women on the cheeseburger front, averaging two dozen a month compared with 17, a gap that has held steady in recent tracking periods.
From St. Louis to a Cheese-Topped Classic
The hamburger’s origin story traces back to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, according to History.com. The cheeseburger’s arrival came later, and its birthplace remains a matter of civic pride and dispute. A Pasadena, California, eatery claims credit dating to 1924, while a Louisville, Kentucky, restaurant insists its own version debuted a decade later, in 1934. More than a century after the first patty hit a bun, the dish has become a fixture of American dining, and chains large and small are marking the occasion with discounts steep enough to draw a crowd.
Fast-Food Chains Compete for Your Appetite
The biggest players in burgers are leaning hard into loyalty apps this year, dangling free food to keep customers scrolling and swiping rather than driving to a competitor.
- McDonald‘s is handing MyMcDonald’s Rewards members a free double cheeseburger with any $1 purchase, alongside a new SpongeBob-meets-One Piece Happy Meal promotion rolling out the same week.
- Burger King is running a full week of Royal Perks giveaways, including a free bacon cheeseburger with a $3 minimum spend, plus free nuggets and a chicken sandwich later in the weekend.
- Wendy’s Rewards members can tack on a Dave’s Single Cheeseburger for under $2 with any purchase, a one-time digital offer good only while supplies last.
- Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are offering half-price burgers and buy-one-get-one Famous Stars, respectively, through their rewards programs across two days.
- Sonic, Smashburger and Shake Shack all have deep discounts on signature burgers through their apps, with Shake Shack requiring a promo code at checkout.
Cheeseburger Specials Spread to Sit-Down Spots
The savings extend well past drive-thrus and into casual dining. Applebee’s is serving a Classic Burger or Cheeseburger with fries for under $9, while Buffalo Wild Wings, Ruby Tuesday and BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse are each pairing discounted burgers with sides or dessert add-ons of their own. Upscale steakhouse chains have joined the trend too: Sullivan’s Steakhouse and Eddie Merlot’s are both offering online orders of a signature burger and fries for $15, a notable discount for that tier of dining. Bobby’s Burgers, the fast-casual chain from celebrity chef Bobby Flay, is selling a themed meal deal tied to the date itself at select locations, complete with a price that matches the holiday.
Delivery Deals and Bonus Perks
Third-party platforms are sweetening the pot as well. Grubhub is waiving delivery and service fees on orders of $50 or more, and is running brand-specific deals such as a buy-one Whopper Jr. offer and a free Baconator threshold deal at Wendy’s. Five Guys shoppers can score a buy-one-get-one burger through the chain’s own app and website using a promo code good only for online orders. Beyond restaurants, Dollar General is discounting gift cards for major burger brands, and Kraft Singles has tied a season-long promotion to Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, with prizes including Super Bowl tickets and a lifetime cheese supply up for grabs.
With dozens of chains competing for attention, the hardest part of the holiday may be deciding where to cash in first. Most deals require signing up for a rewards app in advance, and many expire the moment the clock strikes midnight, so burger fans hoping to cash in should move quickly before the day runs out.
Source: USA TODAY
