Many restaurants offer free meals to veterans on Veterans Day as a gesture of gratitude for their service. (Though some commenters think the motive is a lot less altruistic.)
But when those promotions come with fine print that isn’t clearly communicated, they can end up excluding the very people they’re meant to honor.
One homeless veteran learned this the hard way when she tried to take advantage of Buffalo Wild Wings’ advertised free meal—only to discover restrictions that made it impossible for her to participate.
Veteran Calls Out Buffalo Wild Wings
In a viral video with more than 162,000 views, homeless veteran Brookes (@brookesnotsosimplelifee) criticized Buffalo Wild Wings for its Veterans Day promotion after discovering she couldn’t actually access the free meal advertised.
“@buffalowildwings thanks for not helping this veteran on Veteran’s Day,” the text overlay on her video reads.
“You should take it off of your website if you can’t actually walk in and order the free Veterans Day meal like you say that you can,” Brookes said in the video.
She explained that the promotion was only valid for customers dining inside the restaurant. She says this wasn’t clear on the site.
For Brookes, that requirement created an insurmountable barrier.
“You actually only are allowed to eat in the restaurant, which I would if I could, but I’m homeless, and my animals and things like that can’t exactly come with me,” she explained.
The situation left her frustrated not just about missing out on the meal but about the wasted resources.
“That would have been nice to know before I wasted my gas,” she said. “So you should update your website.”
According to her GoFundMe campaign trying to raise $2,400, Brookes and her boyfriend relocated from California to Michigan for a job opportunity while facing homelessness.
After he lost the job about a month after moving, they became reliant on her veteran’s disability income, which is a bit over $2,000 a month (according to another video) and bordering the poverty line for a family of two.
Unable to afford rent, they purchased an RV for themselves and their two dogs and cat to live in.
Brooke said they’d use the donations to make the RV habitable for winter, including purchasing batteries for solar panels and a new propane tank.
The Reality of Veteran Homelessness
Brookes’ situation sheds light on a significant issue affecting thousands of veterans across the country.
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, approximately 32,882 veterans were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024—the lowest number since HUD began reporting in 2009, but still representing thousands of people.
Veterans account for about 5% of all adults experiencing homelessness, and over the course of a year, estimates suggest that nearly twice as many veterans experience homelessness at some point.
The Bob Woodruff Foundation notes that while veteran homelessness decreased 8% from 2023 to 2024, veterans remain a vulnerable population.
Their 2023 community survey found that 64% of Got Your 6 partners reported that many or almost all of the veterans seeking their services had housing needs, but only 21% could fully address those needs. Community-based organizations often serve veterans excluded from publicly administered benefits due to income or discharge status.
For homeless veterans, practical barriers exist in accessing many services: they may have pets or service animals they cannot leave outside, belongings they cannot secure, or simply feel uncomfortable in certain environments for extended periods.
How Veterans Day Restaurant Promotions Work
According to USA Today, Buffalo Wild Wings advertised that “all past and present armed service members can get 10 free Boneless Wings and Fries with a valid ID on Veteran Day” with the caveat that the “offer is good for dine-in and walk-in at participating locations.”
This dine-in-only requirement is actually standard across many Veterans Day restaurant promotions.
USA Today’s comprehensive list reveals that most major chains—from Applebee’s to Chili’s to Golden Corral—explicitly restrict their free meals to dine-in customers only.
When restaurants fail to clearly communicate these restrictions, veterans may waste limited resources like gas money traveling to locations where they ultimately cannot access the advertised benefit.
Commenters React
“Because they aren’t trying to just give out free meals. They want veterans to come in with family or order drinks. They aren’t trying to be nice, they are making money off of it,” a top comment theorized.
“Sit down, order a water and immediately ask for a box. I’m sure the fur babies would be ok for like 15mins in the car. Just a thought!” a person said.
“People defending bww instead of wanting the best for a homeless vet is wild,” another wrote.
“I get the frustration, but you didnt read the fine print. if you can access TikTok on your phone, you can access the Buffalo wild wings, website, and check and see if if it’s dine in only. they did not waste your time, you wasted your own time,” a commenter added.
BroBible reached out to Brookes for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Buffalo Wild Wings via email.