Where Do Kids Eat Free on Wednesdays?

Dining out is expensive. Children are expensive.  But sometimes, you just don’t feel like cooking, and you still have to feed your kids.  So let’s say it’s Wednesday and you just can’t bring yourself to cook and you don’t want to order pizza again.  Where can you go that your kids will eat free on Wednesdays?

Growing up, there was one night a week that a local restaurant had a “pay by the pound” deal, where kids ate for the cost of their weight with the purchase of one adult meal.  I still remember the joy of getting to eat out and see my friends, and of course, I didn’t mind getting on the scale.  (Honestly, if a local restaurant told me I could eat at a penny per pound today, I’d hop up on that scale and enjoy being able to get a meal for under $2.)  Of course, it was not only a break for my mom from cooking, but we also had to behave ourselves and work on our table manners while we were out.

Of course, nothing comes without a catch.  Your kids can’t just walk in and eat for free (or for a discount).  These deals typically come with the purchase of at least one adult meal.  And of course, check with your location to make sure that they are honoring the deal.

• 4 Rivers Smokehouse – One free kids meal per adult meal purchased
• Buffalo Wild Wings – Kids meals are $1.99 with the purchase of an adult meal
• East Coast Wings – One free kids meal per adult meal purchased
• Firehouse Subs – One free kids combo meal per adult combo meal purchased
• Gatti’s Pizza – One free kids buffet per adult buffet
• Jason’s Deli – One free kids meal per adult meal purchased
• Jeffery’s Sports Grill – One free kids meal per adult meal purchased
• Little Bitty Burger Barn – Two free kids meals per adult meal purchased
• Logan’s Roadhouse – One free kids meal per adult meal purchased
• Luby’s – Kids eat for $2
• Qdoba Mexican Grill – One free kids meal per adult meal purchased (note – some locations choose to honor this on the weekend instead of Wednesdays)

At some places, kids meals are free or discounted multiple days of the week, including Wednesdays.

• Carrows – One free kids meal for every adult meal purchased
• Frickers – Specifics vary by location
• McAlister’s Deli – Kids meals are $0.99
• O’Charley’s – One free kids meal for every adult meal purchased

Additionally, there are some chains where kids eat free on a certain day of the week, but that day varies by location.  So if you have any of these places nearby, give them a call and find out which day your kids eat free!

• Applebees
• Bennigans
• IHOP
• Moe’s Southwestern Grill
• Texas Roadhouse

Additionally, be sure to check out your local resources. Some national chains will have kids-eat-free days in certain markets, and local restaurants may also have similar deals.  It never hurts to ask around and find out where you can get the best food for the best deal.

Incidentially, if do have kids, you might consider reading kidsaintcheap.com and kidwealth.com. Both are nice niche sites geared towards raising children to be money smart.

Megan Smith

Megan is a 40-something government employee in the Washington, DC area. She got interested in Personal Finance when she got out of college and realized that her paycheck wasn’t going to go as far as she had hoped. Since starting this blog, she has managed to buy a house and make a solid start on her retirement goals, and hopes to help others do the same. Here is her story:

In 2007, I was a gainfully employed 20-something with no debt but not a lot of knowledge about personal finance.  It was a co-worker’s comment about Roth IRAs that sent me to the internet, searching for information.  It was then that I realized that I really didn’t know a whole lot about personal finance and that my current financial situation was due a lot to inherent frugal tendencies, generous family members, a fear of debt, and good luck.  While that was working for me, clearly I needed a better plan.

While I had no debt, I was also pretty much living paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about going over budget (I say this as if I had a real budget) because I had an emergency fund set aside to cover any overages.

Except that’s not what an emergency fund is for.

So I did a lot of research, read a lot of blogs, and decided that I needed a plan.  I needed to budget.  I needed to know what I was spending my money on.  I needed to prepare for the future.

I decided to create a blog not only to make myself accountable to others but also to share the knowledge that I gained along the way.  I’ve learned so much from my fellow bloggers, and I hope that my readers can find something useful in what I have to share as well.