Quick-service restaurants are hoping to scare up some Halloween business with a variety of tactics, from offering free or discounted specials, to limited-time-only special flavors.
Taco Bell is capitalizing on its sixth year of official sponsorship of Major League Baseball by celebrating game three of the 2009 World Series and Halloween, which fall on the same night. On Oct. 31, U.S. restaurants will offer customers a free Black Jack Taco between 6 p.m. and midnight local time. The Black Jack Taco, a new LTO addition to the chain's value menu, features a black taco shell filled with seasoned beef and topped with a zesty Pepper Jack sauce.
Taco Bell has a history of MLB promotions, including last year's "Steal A Base, Steal A Taco" World Series promotion and the placement of its "Free Taco" target at multiple World Series games.
Sonic Drive-Ins will be offering a 50-cent corn dog deal from 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Oct. 31. The corn dog features a hot dog surrounded in a sweet corn batter and fried to a crispy golden brown.
Halloween LTOs
Other chains are offering seasonal LTOS, including:
- Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp.'s Halloween Combo, available through Oct. 31 at participating U.S. Krispy Kreme stores
- Dunkin' Donuts' "Boston Scream" donut, available this week only, is a twist on the traditional Boston Kreme donut, decorated with orange icing drizzle
- MaggieMoo's Ice Cream and Treatery's line up of spooky ice cream cupcakes, including Mummy Cupcake, Eyeball Cupcake, Frankenstein Cupcake and the Jack-O-Lantern Cupcake
Pumpkin also is a popular flavor, showing up in Dairy Queen's Blizzard of the Month — Pumpkin Pie — and in an LTO baked pie at McDonald's.
