The Seasonal Push
Sonny's BBQ, the southeastern barbecue chain with nearly 100 locations, is rolling out its broadest seasonal menu update in recent memory on September 14, adding eight food items and three specialty beverages available for a limited time nationwide. The move is a direct play for fall dining occasions and holiday-season foot traffic, with two shareable platters—Pork 3 Ways at $16.99 and the Sonny's Sampler at $19.99—anchoring the limited-time offer through December.
Two New Sauces Lead the Menu
The chain is introducing Buffalo BBQ—described as sweet, tangy, and spicy—alongside the return of its signature Maple BBQ sauce, which figures into two of the new entrées. Maple BBQ Pork Burnt Ends feature smoked and caramelized pork collar, while the Maple BBQ Turkey Club layers chipotle candied bacon and Swiss on garlic bread. A Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese and Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese round out the comfort-focused entrée additions. On the appetizer side, Sonny's is bringing back Cheese Curds made with Tillamook Cheddar, and Pecan Pie Egg Rolls return by popular demand following their debut last fall.
Head Pitmaster Shannon Snell framed the additions around the seasonal occasion: "From our Maple BBQ Pork Burnt Ends to our Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese, we're giving families the cozy, comfort-food flavors they look for all fall and throughout the holiday season."
Beverage and Traffic Strategy
Three limited-time beverages—Winterberry Lemonade, Brown Sugar Spiced Tea, and a Root Beer Float built with spiced brown sugar syrup—round out the seasonal program. Specialty drinks have become a key traffic driver across the casual-dining segment, with operators increasingly using beverage innovation to boost check averages and return visits during shoulder seasons. For a brand of Sonny's scale, a coordinated food-and-beverage seasonal launch also creates a more durable marketing window than a single LTO item.
Founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1968, Sonny's BBQ operates across eight southeastern states and has been recognized as "Best Barbecue Chain in America" by The Daily Meal. The brand reports annual community giving of more than $1.2 million through its 'Q the Kindness and Random Acts of BBQ programs. Franchise development remains an active priority; the company maintains a dedicated franchise site at sonnysbbqfranchise.com. For operators and franchisees watching the casual-dining BBQ segment, the fall rollout signals that Sonny's is leaning into experiential, shareable formats—a strategy consistent with broader casual-dining menu trends this year. The dual-sauce launch in particular reflects a wider industry pattern of using proprietary condiments and flavor platforms as a differentiation lever, a tactic examined in recent F&B supply-chain coverage.
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.
