Arby's promos Roastburger with giveawayArby's promos Roastburger with giveaway

Alan J. Liddle

ATLANTA Arby's is promoting its Roastburger line of three sliced-beef sandwiches with an offer on Facebook.com to try the new menu item for free next Sunday.

The 3,756-unit chain is distributing on Facebook a coupon for a free Roastburger with the purchase of a soft drink on March 8. The Roastburger is regularly priced in several markets at $3.59 for the sandwich and $5.59 in a combo meal with a drink and fries.

Arby's began widely selling the Roastburgers on Feb. 17 and kicked off national advertising for the new sandwiches on Sunday, a spokeswoman said.

The product rollout comes as Arby’s parent, Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. of Atlanta, reported that same-store sales for North American Arby’s restaurants decreased by 10.6 percent at company-operated restaurants and by 7.6 percent at franchised outlets in the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 28. About two-thirds of the Arby’s system is operated by franchisees.

Arby’s said the "never fried" and "never greasy" Roastburger is in line with consumer desires, and it cited a recent survey conducted by Kelton Research that found that 55 percent of respondents found fast-food burgers can be too greasy, while 40 percent said they can be too dry. The survey also found that 45 percent of the respondents said their No. 1 complaint about fast-food beef is the quality of the meat.

The three Roastburger varieties all come with Arby’s oven-roasted sliced beef, lettuce, tomato and onion on a specialty roll. The All-American Roastburger also includes ketchup, mustard and a secret sauce; the Bacon and Bleu Cheese comes with pepper bacon and blue cheese spread; and Bacon Cheddar is made with pepper bacon and cheddar cheese.

“Roastburgers offer a tasty new way for burger lovers to satisfy their cravings while avoiding burger boredom,” said Steve Davis, Arby's chief marketing officer.

Contact Alan J. Liddle at [email protected].