Fourth of July menu templates for restaurants and BBQ joints
Updated October 20, 2026
Independence Day falls on Sunday, July 4, 2027, and the federal holiday is observed on Monday, July 5, so many customers get a three-day weekend. Copy a template below and open cookout pre-orders three weeks before. Most people host at home on the Fourth, which makes it a to-go holiday: meat by the pound, ready-made cookout packs and picnic boxes that ride in a cooler to the fireworks. There are four templates, promo copy and a costing example that includes the weight brisket loses in the smoker.
Pick your Fourth of July template
| Template | Best for | What it sells |
|---|---|---|
| BBQ by the pound pre-order menu | BBQ restaurants, smokehouses, delis | Brisket, pulled pork, ribs and chicken by weight, plus sides by the quart |
| Cookout pack for 6 | Burger spots, family restaurants | Patties, buns, hot dogs, sides and dessert, ready to grill or ready to eat |
| Picnic box for 2 | Cafes, delis, sandwich shops | A cold box for the park or the fireworks |
| Holiday hours notice | Everyone | When you're open on Sunday the 4th and Monday the 5th |
How to use them: paste the dishes into the printable menu maker (one per line, price at the end) for a US Letter PDF, or copy the wording into Word or Google Docs. For a window or social post, pick Fourth of July (US) in the festival poster maker.
1. BBQ by the pound pre-order menu
Sell cooked weight, and say so. Customers compare your price per pound with the store's raw price, so tell them it's ready to eat.
Fourth of July BBQ · [Your restaurant name] Pre-order by Wednesday, June 30. Pickup Saturday, July 3, or Sunday, July 4, from ____ to ____.
Smoked brisket, sliced · $____ per lb (cooked weight) Pulled pork · $____ per lb St. Louis ribs · $____ per half rack · $____ per full rack Smoked chicken, half · $____ Sides by the quart: mac and cheese $____ · baked beans $____ · coleslaw $____ · potato salad $____ Extras: sauce, 8 oz $____ · pickles and onions $____ · 12 buns $____
Packed hot. Eat within 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's over 90°F outside, or refrigerate.
2. Cookout pack for 6
Cookout Pack · Feeds 6 · [Your restaurant name] ☐ Ready to grill · ☐ Ready to eat · Pickup July 3 or 4 6 beef patties (⅓ lb) · 6 all-beef hot dogs · 12 buns · cheese slices Lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles · ketchup, mustard, relish Potato salad and coleslaw, 1 quart each · 6 ____ cookies or a ____ pie Price: ready to grill $____ · ready to eat $____
Ready-to-grill packs are raw: cook burgers and hot dogs through (ground meat to 160°F).
3. Picnic box for 2
Fireworks Picnic Box for 2 · $____ 2 ____ sandwiches (or wraps) · a ____ salad · fruit · 2 ____ desserts · 2 drinks Packed cold. Keep in a cooler with ice; eat within 1 hour once it's out of the cooler on a hot day.
4. Holiday hours notice
Fourth of July hours Sat, July 3: ____ to ____ · Sun, July 4: ____ to ____ (pre-order pickups only) · Mon, July 5: ____ Order ahead at [your Menuthere link]
Make a printable version for your door with the free holiday hours and closed sign maker.
Promo copy you can paste
Email to your own list (send from your email tool):
Subject: Fourth of July BBQ: order by Wednesday, June 30 Skip the smoker this year. Pre-order brisket, pulled pork and ribs by the pound, with sides by the quart, for pickup Saturday, July 3, or Sunday, July 4. Order here: [your Menuthere link]
Pop-up banner on your menu: "Fourth of July BBQ by the pound: pre-order by 6/30 for July 3–4 pickup." Announcement bar (under 100 characters): "July 4th BBQ by the pound + cookout packs: order by Wed 6/30, pickup Sat or Sun" Social caption: "Hosting the Fourth? We'll do the smoking. Brisket, pork and ribs by the pound, sides by the quart. Pre-order at the link."
Under CAN-SPAM, a promo email needs an honest subject line, your valid postal address and a clear way to opt out, and you must honor opt-outs within 10 business days (FTC). If your customers order on WhatsApp, keep it for order updates: Meta does not deliver marketing template messages to US (+1) phone numbers, so in the US WhatsApp sends order updates (utility messages, about US$0.0034 each), not promotions. Use email for offers. More in WhatsApp ordering for US restaurants.
Worked example: pricing brisket by the pound
These are example figures only. Weigh your own briskets before and after cooking: yield varies with the cut, the trim and the cook.
| One whole brisket | Example |
|---|---|
| Raw weight | 14 lb |
| Raw cost at $4.80/lb | $67.20 |
| Cooked, trimmed and sliced weight (your own yield test; 50% in this example) | 7 lb |
| Cost per cooked lb ($67.20 ÷ 7) | $9.60 |
| Rub, wood or charcoal, wrap, per cooked lb | $0.40 |
| Cost per cooked lb | $10.00 |
At a 35% target cost, $10.00 ÷ 0.35 = $28.57, so a price of $28 per lb puts cost at 35.7% and $29 at 34.5%. If pre-orders reach 80 lb of sliced brisket, you need 80 ÷ 7 = 11.4, so 12 briskets in the smoker, plus whatever you sell on the day. That is why the cut-off is Wednesday: you have to buy the meat and start the cook before the weekend. Priced on raw weight instead, the same brisket would look like a 50% loss.
Check the rest of the menu in the menu price calculator.
When to get your Fourth of July menu out
| When (2027) | Job |
|---|---|
| Mon, Jun 7 | Run a yield test on one brisket; cost meats per cooked pound and the packs |
| Mon, Jun 14 | Menu online; pre-orders open for July 3 and 4 |
| Mon, Jun 21 | First email; poster in the window |
| Mon, Jun 28 | Last-call email; order meat against pre-orders so far |
| Wed, Jun 30 | Pre-order cut-off; final meat order |
| Thu, Jul 1 | Trim and season; prep sides |
| Fri, Jul 2 – Sat, Jul 3 | Smoke; first pickups on Saturday |
| Sun, Jul 4 | Independence Day pickups |
| Mon, Jul 5 | Federal holiday (observed). Post your hours; switch the Fourth menu off |
More dates are in June food holidays, July food holidays and the full restaurant marketing calendar.
US rules to check for a summer holiday
- The 1-hour rule in the heat. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says perishable food shouldn't be left out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour when it's above 90°F, as it often is on July 4. Hot food should be held at 140°F or above and cold food at 40°F or below, and cold take-out for a picnic belongs in a cooler with plenty of ice.
- Cooking temperatures. FSIS lists 145°F with a 3-minute rest for beef and pork steaks, chops and roasts, 160°F for ground meats and 165°F for all poultry. Ready-to-grill packs should say so on the label.
- The observed holiday. OPM treats Monday, July 5, 2027, as the federal holiday because July 4 falls on a Sunday. Expect offices to be closed that Monday and plan your hours and staff for a long weekend.
- Alcohol. Drink specials and any alcohol to go follow your state's alcohol rules. Check with your state alcohol beverage control agency before you advertise them.
How to do it in Menuthere
- Put the Fourth of July menu online (Free). Add meats with sizes (1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb) and sides by the quart, or upload a photo or PDF of your printed menu; AI reads the dishes and prices for you to check. 0% commission on every plan.
- Take pre-orders for July 3 and 4 (Lite, US$17 a month). Turn on Prebooking, choose Specific items and tick the meats and packs, set the Earliest booking time to 3 days and Only made on to Saturday and Sunday. See dishes that need notice.
- Stop at what the smoker can hold. There's no cap per pickup slot, so watch the Prebookings tab and mark brisket out of stock when you reach your number (every plan).
- Take payment up front (Lite). Customers pay the full amount online by card through Stripe, into your own account. Sales tax shows as "Sales tax" at checkout.
- Announce it (Lite). Schedule a pop-up banner from June 14 to June 30 and add an announcement bar line. Post your holiday hours too.
- Deliver with your own drivers (Pro, US$39 a month). The rider app runs on iOS and Android, and customers get a live tracking link. You assign each order with one tap. Compare the cost with app couriers in the own delivery cost calculator and see the rider app.
With a Branded App, you can send app users a push notification when pre-orders open. See pricing, pre-orders and table booking and our online ordering system for US restaurants.
Pre-orders start on Lite, with a 7-day free trial (a card is needed to start; nothing is charged until the trial ends).
FAQs
When is the Fourth of July holiday in 2027?
Independence Day is Sunday, July 4, 2027. Because it falls on a Sunday, the federal holiday is observed on Monday, July 5, according to OPM. In 2028, July 4 is a Tuesday.
What should a restaurant sell on the Fourth of July?
Food for people who host at home: meat by the pound, ready-to-eat or ready-to-grill cookout packs, sides by the quart and cold picnic boxes for the fireworks. Take pre-orders so you know how much to cook.
How do I price brisket by the pound?
Price on cooked weight. Divide the raw cost by the cooked, sliced weight from your own yield test, add rub and fuel, then divide by your target cost percentage. In our example that's $10.00 per cooked pound, so $28 a pound gives a 35.7% food cost.
How long can BBQ sit out on a hot day?
USDA says no more than 1 hour when it's above 90°F, and 2 hours otherwise. Keep hot food at 140°F or above and cold food at 40°F or below, and print that on your labels.
When should I close Fourth of July pre-orders?
Early enough to buy the meat and start the cook. For smoked meats picked up on July 3 and 4, a Wednesday, June 30, cut-off gives you a day to trim and two days to smoke.
Can I send a Fourth of July offer on WhatsApp to US customers?
No. Meta does not deliver WhatsApp marketing template messages to US (+1) phone numbers. WhatsApp can still send order updates, so use email to your own list for the offer.
Sources (7)
- US Office of Personnel Management, Federal holidays (Independence Day observed Monday, July 5, 2027; Sunday holidays observed the following Monday). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Safe Handling of Take-Out Foods (2-hour / 1-hour above 90°F rule; hot at 140°F, cold at 40°F; coolers with ice). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-handling-take-out-foods
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart (last updated Apr 14, 2025). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-temperature-chart
- National Day Calendar, National Days for July (Independence Day Sun Jul 4, 2027; National Barbecued Spareribs Day Jul 4). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://nationaldaycalendar.com/july/days
- Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business
- Meta for Developers, Marketing template per-user limits (marketing templates not delivered to US phone numbers). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (North America utility rate). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing