The Menu Build
BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse (NASDAQ: BJRI) launched a nationwide holiday menu on November 5, adding a 16-ounce Hawaiian Rib Eye as its premium centerpiece alongside two new shareable sides and a reformulated signature dessert — a rollout the Huntington Beach, California-based casual dining chain is positioning as its most substantive seasonal menu expansion in recent years.
The Hawaiian Rib Eye, marinated and finished with a Hawaiian glaze and a grilled pineapple ring, is designed to close the gap with standalone steakhouse occasions while keeping BJ's brewhouse identity intact. Two new shareable sides accompany it: a Truffle Mac & Cheese — cavatappi pasta in white truffle oil and white cheddar sauce, topped with Gruyère, Jack, and a Parmesan panko crust — which sold out during test-market runs, and Loaded Mashed Potatoes layered with smoked bacon, Jack and cheddar cheeses, green onions, and sour cream. Truffle Fries round out the steakhouse-side lineup.
Pizookie Reformulation
The chain's highest-profile product move is the return of its Biscoff® Pizookie®, now rebranded the Biscoff® Brown Butter Pizookie®. BJ's cited 65% consumer interest in brown butter desserts in 2026 as a data point behind the reformulation, which swaps in a brown butter cookie base while retaining vanilla bean ice cream, cookie butter drizzle, Biscoff® crumbles, and a whole Biscoff® cookie on top. The updated dessert joins the recently launched Nutella® Gone Bananas Pizookie® on the seasonal menu, giving the chain two limited-time dessert SKUs competing for shareability and social-media traction during the peak gifting quarter.
"This year, we've taken inspiration from what our guests love and crave and created a holiday lineup that feels both familiar and exciting," said Monika Saxena, Executive Vice President and Brand President. "Everything reflects the craft, creativity and care that go into making every visit to BJ's worth celebrating."
Gift Card Economics
Beyond the food program, BJ's is running a structured gift card promotion from November 5 through December 31 aimed at driving January traffic — a standard tactic in casual dining to smooth the post-holiday revenue trough. In-restaurant purchases of $100 in gift cards yield a $20 bonus card, a 20% off VIP card, and two exclusive holiday pint glasses (excluding Arizona and Texas locations). Online buyers get the same bonus structure, with a Cyber Weekend escalation running November 27–30: $100 in eGift cards unlocks a $25 bonus card plus the VIP discount. All bonus and VIP cards activate January 4–31, 2027.
The promotion mirrors approaches used across the casual dining segment during Q4, where operators treat gift card float as a low-cost financing mechanism and bonus cards as a loyalty retention tool. For a chain with more than 200 locations across 31 states, the holiday window is also a key period for rebuilding average unit volume momentum heading into fiscal Q1.
On the beverage side, BJ's is adding two seasonal cocktails — the Glittery Goose Sangria and a Caramel Macchiato Martini — alongside the 27th Annual Grand Cru, a limited-time Belgian-style holiday ale that underscores the chain's positioning as the most decorated restaurant-brewery in the country with over 270 medals since 1996. The craft beer angle is a meaningful differentiator in a crowded casual dining market where beverage attach rates increasingly drive check averages. The full holiday menu is available for a limited time at all participating BJ's locations nationwide.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
