Betting that freebies will draw in more recession-weary customers, several restaurant chains are giving away food this month.
Casual dining chain Denny's Corp. said Wednesday if a customer brings in a friend on April 8, the friend will get a free Grand "Slamwich," a new breakfast sandwich of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, ham and cheese. It is normally priced at $4.99 and comes with hash browns.
The promotion comes after the chain offered a free Grand Slam breakfast to anyone who came in on Feb. 3. The breakfast, which includes pancakes, eggs, bacon strips and sausage links, usually goes for $5.99. That deal was hugely successful with some locations reporting long lines and crowded parking lots.
"This marketing effort fosters trial of our brand-new Grand Slam product, the Grand Slamwich, and it once again helps people who could use some good news right now," Chief Executive Nelson Marchioli said in a statement.
Casual dining chains have been struggling for months to bring in customers as more consumers eat at home to save cash. Restaurants have increasingly been cutting prices or offering special giveaways to draw hungry consumers through the door.
Sit-down restaurants aren't the only ones giving away food. Canadian coffee and sandwich chain Tim Hortons Inc. is offering a BBQ or Ranch Chicken Wrap Snacker for free on Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at all of its 520 U.S. locations.
The snackers, small wrap sandwiches of about 200 calories each, usually sell for $1.59.
CiCi's Pizza, a privately owned pizza chain known for its buffet, is scattering pennies in public areas around its 650 restaurants. The pennies are marked on the back with deals and free meals.
Denny's shares fell 4 cents to $1.63 in late morning trading while shares in Tim Hortons rose 30 cents to $25.67.
