Dining out doesn’t have to end with your last paycheck: restaurants are keen to encourage the silver dollar, often with deep discounts and deals.
With most retirees living on around $56,680 a year - and medical bills, grocery costs and gas prices soaring - discounts on dining out are a valuable perk. In many cases restaurants also appreciate retirees’ business, offering discounted “early bird” menus for those who dine before 5 or 6 p.m.
“Restaurant owners appreciate regular senior customers who come in during the slowest times,” said Yu Jian Zhao, restaurateur and owner of U.S.- and Europe-based bar station design firm Kobayahsi. “They are willing to sacrifice a little profit for predictable and steady business.”
Many nationwide restaurants offer discounts for those 65 and older through a set percentage, such as 10 percent off on all purchases, or a special menu with prices available only to seniors.
Smaller restaurants and family-run businesses may have lesser-known offers you can find out about by asking, Zhao told The Independent in an email, and retirees can typically get the biggest discounts at breakfast and lunch.
And the benefits of dining out on senior discount go beyond your wallet, said Jeremy Clerc, CEO of senior-focused Assisted Living Magazine. Sharing meals with friends offers important benefits for retirees’ health.
“Shared meals combat loneliness and isolation, which are significant risk factors for cognitive decline and depression in older adults,” Clerc said in an email to The Independent. “Regular social dining gives people something to look forward to and maintain relationships around.
Fine dining deals
Senior discounts are few and far between at national and regional fine dining restaurants, where profit margins can be as low as 5 percent, according to business consultancy QMK Consulting. That being said, retirees can find year-round or one-day discounts at certain restaurants.
Nationwide upscale steakhouse Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille has a fixed $39 three-course menu available to those 65 and older who dine before 6 p.m. Retirees can choose between six options for their appetizer, main course and dessert.
Regional fine dining steakhouse III Forks offers complimentary entrees (up to $60) at most of its locations to veterans on Veterans Day.
Upscale nationwide fondue restaurant The Melting Pot offers veterans a second free four-course meal with the purchase of a four-course meal on Veterans Day.
All about AARP
AARP, an advocacy group for Americans 50 and older, offers a variety of restaurant discounts for members. Those discounts mean 10 percent off at 23 chain restaurants, including:
- Carrabba’s Italian Grill
- Bonefish Grill
- Chart House
- Joe’s Crab Shack
- Outback Steakhouse.
Members can get 15 percent off purchases at Denny’s and 20 percent off all regular menu prices for Papa John’s online orders.
AARP memberships range in price from $15 for one year to $55 for five years.
Deals at Denny’s
In addition to its 15 percent discount for seniors, Denny’s has a dedicated menu for those 55 and older. Meals include scrambled eggs and cheddar breakfast, grilled cheese sandwich and soup combo, country fried steak, and wild Alaskan salmon.
Breakfast options range from $7.29 to $9.19 and dinners start at $9.99.
The diner has 1,255 locations in the U.S., with 102 in the popular retirement state of Florida.
Flip out at IHOP
The famed pancake house has a dedicated menu for those 55 and older, with dishes ranging from $6.99 to $10.49.
Retirees can choose from three traditional breakfast options - breakfast sampler, Rise ‘N Shine, and French toast - and a trio of traditional lunch and dinner choices that includes a BLT, shrimp and crispy fish.
Friendly prices
Burger and ice cream restaurant Friendly’a has a senior menu for those 60 and older. Instead of offering a discount or exclusive menu, Friendly’s offers $1.50 to $3 off regular menu items.
For example, retirees can get a Friendly’s burger for $7.99, or $2 off the regular price. Other items that receive a discounted price include:
- Grilled cheese sandwich ($2 off)
- Classic Cobb salad ($2 off)
- Patty melt ($2 off)
- Chicken tenders platter ($3 off)
- Burger combo ($2 off)
- Sundae dessert ($1.50 off).
Friendly’s discounts tend to be more generous than those of other restaurants. Savings range from 17 to 27 percent off.
Tea time
Senior- and retiree-specific discounts and menus aside, there are other ways that the older crowd can save money when they go out or order in.
Panera Unlimited Sip Club
Panera’s Unlimited Sip Club membership is $14.99 a month or $119.99 annually, and offers the following free drinks and, when applicable, refills (Sip Club drinks can be ordered every two hours):
- Hot and iced coffee
- Tea
- Iced tea
- Fountain drinks
- Certain Bubbler drinks.
It also entitles Sip Club members to intermittent deals on food and other drinks, as well as a $0 delivery fee.
Wine clubs
Wine clubs are a good way to access discounts, and with the ease of home delivery too. Companies such as Winc conduct a quick test to understand a customer’s preferences, then use this to send six or 12 bottles monthly. Users can select their own wines, too; they aren’t forced to stick to the recommendations.
While the cost of a Winc shipment will vary depending on which wines you choose, wine clubs such as Firstleaf charge a flat fee of $99 a month for six wines and $199 a month for 12 wines.
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