Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTDaniel KlineWed, July 29, 2026 at 6:28 PM GMT+2 4 min readWhen beef prices climb, a restaurant like Chili's or Applebee's can advertise chicken specials and find ways to entice customers to order more affordable proteins.But when a chain focuses on one specific protein as part of its brand identity, its options become limited. Buffalo Wild Wings advertises boneless wing specials when bone-in prices rise, and WingStop, despite its name, sold chicken thighs in 2021 when wing prices skyrocketed, according to CNBC.Still, the more specific your offering, the harder it is to pivot. That's what doomed a number of Texas BBQ restaurants recently, as the price of beef has climbed, TheStreet reported.When customers expect brisket, they may not want pulled pork, and when they're going to a seafood chain, it's hard to sell them beef or chicken. This problem factored into