The Promotion

Sonny's BBQ is deploying six consecutive weeks of loyalty-gated discounts and a sponsored sweepstakes as part of the returning Porktoberfest campaign, running September 21 through October 25, 2026. The promotion, co-sponsored by Coca-Cola, is structured to drive repeat visits through the brand's free rewards program across its nearly 100 southeastern locations.

The deal sequence is staggered by week to encourage frequency: members can redeem free Pork Egg Rolls with an entrée purchase during the opening week, followed by a buy-one-get-one Pork Sandwich offer, a Sonny's Original paired with Cheese Curds or Pecan Pie Egg Rolls, $5 Pulled Pork Sandwiches on National Pulled Pork Day (October 12), a free Seasonal Sip with a Pork Dinner purchase, and a 100-bonus-point earning event on all qualifying pork items in the final week. The graduated structure mirrors tactics used broadly across casual-dining loyalty programs to maximize enrollment conversion and active-user retention.

The Sweepstakes

Running concurrently, the Porktoberfest Sweepstakes — sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company — offers a grand prize of a 7-day cruise for two with roundtrip airfare included. Secondary prizes include pulled pork for a year, a backyard barbecue catering package, and a tailgate party for 10. The sweepstakes closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on October 25, 2026, and is open to residents of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Washington, D.C., aged 21 and older. Co-branded sweepstakes of this kind serve a dual function for restaurant operators: they extend media reach through a beverage partner's distribution network while lowering the chain's standalone marketing cost per impression.

Strategic Context

Sonny's BBQ, founded in Gainesville, Fla. in 1968, has built its brand around slow-smoked pulled pork and positions Porktoberfest as an annual vehicle to reinforce that identity during the fall traffic window — a period when casual-dining chains broadly compete for share against football-season at-home occasions. Shannon Snell, Head Pitmaster at Sonny's BBQ, described the campaign as "a chance to have some fun with a craft we've spent decades perfecting."

For franchisees, the promotion provides a structured traffic-driving tool ahead of the holiday quarter, a period when franchise-system promotional alignment is critical to system-wide comparable sales. The brand reports giving back more than $1.2 million annually across the eight states it serves, positioning community engagement as a complementary lever to the commercial campaign. Operators and franchisees seeking additional information can visit the brand's dedicated franchise site at sonnysbbqfranchise.com.

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.