Sonny's BBQ is bringing back Porktoberfest for fall 2026, activating six weeks of sequential pulled-pork deals exclusively for members of its free loyalty program and pairing the promotion with a Coca-Cola®-sponsored sweepstakes that awards a grand prize 7-day cruise for two with roundtrip airfare included.
The Southeast chain, which operates nearly 100 locations and traces its roots to Floyd "Sonny" Tillman's original Gainesville, Fla., pit opened in 1968, is leaning on its sonnysbbq.com rewards tier to drive repeat visits across the roughly five-week window. Each deal window runs seven days and unlocks only for enrolled members — a structure designed to convert casual diners into loyalty participants while sustaining traffic across an otherwise slower fall shoulder season.
The Weekly Deal Calendar
The offers stack sequentially and span a range of menu items. From September 21–27, members who buy an entrée receive free Pork Egg Rolls. The following week (September 28–October 4) brings BOGO Pork Sandwiches. The third week (October 5–11) pairs a Sonny's Original entrée with free Cheese Curds or Pecan Pie Egg Rolls. October 12 — National Pulled Pork Day — features $5 Pulled Pork Sandwiches as a standalone one-day push. October 13–18 rewards Pork Dinner purchases with a free Seasonal Sip, tying a beverage attach to a protein entrée. The campaign closes October 19–25 with 100 bonus loyalty points on all qualifying pork items, a points-multiplier mechanic increasingly common across restaurant loyalty program strategies.
"Every fall, Porktoberfest is our love letter to pulled pork — and to the folks who love it as much as we do," said Shannon Snell, Head Pitmaster at Sonny's BBQ. "Porktoberfest gives us a chance to have some fun with a craft we've spent decades perfecting and provides our guests with even more ways to enjoy what we do best."
Sweepstakes and Brand Partnerships
The Coca-Cola® partnership adds a sweepstakes layer that extends the campaign's reach beyond transaction-driven deals. Beyond the cruise grand prize, secondary prizes include pulled pork for a year, a backyard barbecue catering package, and a tailgate party for 10 — a prize set calibrated to the brand's community-oriented positioning. The sweepstakes runs through October 25, 2026, and is open to U.S. residents 21 and older in 48 states and D.C.
For operators tracking how regional chains activate seasonal beverage and food promotions, Porktoberfest is a useful case study in layering a branded cultural moment — complete with a holiday-style name — over an existing loyalty infrastructure. Rather than a single discount event, Sonny's sequences offers to incentivize weekly return visits and introduces a sweepstakes sponsor to offset promotional costs. The campaign also spotlights appetizer and side items like Cheese Curds and Pecan Pie Egg Rolls alongside core proteins, a deliberate attach strategy to lift check averages. With nearly 100 Southeast locations and an active franchise development pipeline at sonnysbbqfranchise.com, the brand is using Porktoberfest both as a consumer engagement tool and a franchisee traffic driver heading into Q4.
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.
