Ten years ago, an Applebee’s franchisee in Dallas had a zany idea: If the company’s margarita was sold for an incredible $1, would it drive traffic?
During a sleepy summer when Applebee’s sales could use a jolt, that Dallas restaurateur launched the Dollarita in 68 locations in Texas in 2016. His team started getting “hundreds of calls a day, asking if the $1 margarita was a joke,” as Chris Dharod, a Texas franchisee, said that year.
It wasn’t a joke. It was a hair-brained idea that worked, against the odds. The deal was used as a tool to spike traffic — where restaurants lose money on a single $1 margarita but win if customers order other items, like dinner. (And often, they did.) Dharod was credited with dreaming up with a head-turner that made headlines.
Although some franchisees outside of Texas didn’t want to sell the margarita for such a low price, the Dollarita expanded its reach in the coming years.
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By 2019, “tens of millions” of Dollaritas had been sold system-wide, Applebee’s leadership reported.
The promo fizzled nationwide at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But you can’t keep a good discount down: The Dollarita returned in 2022 with an even bigger stunt. An Applebee’s in Irving displayed “the largest margarita in Texas” to visually show how “big” the deal was.
The mug stood 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighed 700 pounds.
Applebee’s on-again, off-again caper returns once again on Feb. 22, 2026 — National Margarita Day — when Applebee’s 10-ounce margarita will cost $1 at 48 Applebee’s stores in Texas, including 26 in D-FW.
(Not participating: Applebee’s stores in Texarkana, Mount Pleasant, Marshall, Kyle, San Antonio and New Braunfels.)
And will the Dollarita dance back onto Applebee’s menu ever again? Nothing is planned yet. Better get one on Feb. 22 if you crave a cocktail deal.