The Buffalo Wild Wings Appetizer Deal That Fans Loved And Servers Hated

Of all the limited time promos that restaurants and chains cycle through, not many gave more value for money than Buffalo Wild Wings' Bottomless Apps deal, which ended in 2025. You only had to pay $9.99 to get unlimited appetizers from a select menu (think mozzarella sticks, onion rings, chips and salsa — the world was your appetizer oyster). The only catch was that you had to be a group of four or less, and you could only order any two appetizers at a time.

Over on Reddit especially, it was a touted as a beloved steal for anyone looking to snack on appetizers, with one commenter claiming "It's a great deal if you are in a small group and just want calories." Many others agreed that the deal let them enjoy full orders of mozzarella sticks and queso for their table, with refills coming all night. While Buffalo Wild Wings has many flavors of wings on the menu, its appetizers are good too, and sometimes the occasion calls for just such starters and drinks to enjoy over conversation. Unlimited apps are also a very clever and reliable order to cut costs when dining out, great for anyone on a budget or for students counting the pennies. So for diners, the deal was an obvious win, but as it turns out, there was a group of people for whom it wasn't quite as exciting: the servers.

Across the internet, former and current Buffalo Wild Wings servers describe hating the deal as it meant even more work than usual. One server on Reddit said "the bottomless apps are killing my soul as a server there," while another put it more bluntly: "I loathe the bottomless apps." If you've ever worked in a busy restaurant, you can only imagine the added stress a deal like this would put on the people actually working the floor.

It comes down to logistics. If someone is enjoying endless appetizers all night, it means the servers are going to have a lot more table check-ins, plates that need clearing, and new plates that need bringing out. One server said that they had to triple their overall trips to a table that had ordered the deal, which is no small thing for an already busy waitstaff. And diners noticed, with many online comments also complaining about the wait time between refills.

If you love appetizers and are the kind of person who prefers grazing, chatting, and lingering over committing to a full meal, then this order probably felt like a no brainer. But it's always interesting to consider how things are behind the scenes, especially if you've never worked as a server yourself. It's easy to complain about "bad service," but with more labor demands and less table turnovers (and therefore less tips), this kind of deal puts a lot of pressure on staff for no extra pay out. So while we may be sad to say goodbye to $9.99 unlimited apps, it's comforting to know at least there's one group of people breathing a sigh of relief.