99 Restaurants Gets 2-Day Reprieve as Red Sox's 15-Game Streak Ends Free-Meal Giveaway

Q: How did a struggling baseball team's sudden, record-tying turnaround accidentally trigger a massive financial giveaway for a New England restaurant?

A surprise 15-game Red Sox winning streak repeatedly activated a long-running “kids eat free” promotion at 99 Restaurants, turning Boston’s on-field surge into a costly restaurant giveaway. Since 2008, the Boston-based chain has offered one free children’s meal the day after every Red Sox win with the purchase of an adult entrée. The Red Sox had been struggling earlier in the season, so the promotion was not expected to hit this heavily. But from July 2 to July 22, Boston suddenly won 15 straight, tying the franchise record set in 1946 and moving back into playoff contention. That streak meant families could redeem the offer almost every day for nearly three weeks. 99 Restaurants said it gave away “thousands” of kids meals during the run. With each meal worth about $8, outside estimates put the total value somewhere from roughly $16,000 to as much as $60,000, depending on redemption volume. The impact was strongest in New England, where 87 of the chain’s 93 locations participated; the six New York sites did not. Locations around Boston reportedly saw the most redemptions, and some families returned repeatedly during the streak. The financial hit was accidental in the sense that the promotion was routine, but the scale was unusual because Boston had not produced a streak this long since the 1940s. When the Orioles ended the run with a 5-1 win, the restaurant got a brief pause, though the promotion can resume with the Red Sox’s next victory.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 25

A 5-1 Red Sox loss to Baltimore on Friday paused 99 Restaurants' "kids eat free" promotion after a 15-game winning streak kept it running for nearly three weeks.
99 said it gave away thousands of free meals during the streak; at about $8 each, the promotion turned an ordinary tie-in into a costly run.
The chain has offered the deal with the Red Sox since 2008, and the 15 straight wins from July 2 to July 22 tied a franchise record.
That break may be brief: Boston opens a weekend series against Toronto with the promotion set to resume whenever the Red Sox win again.