The great pumpkin promotionThe great pumpkin promotion

NATIONAL REPORT With fall rolling in, restaurants are shifting their promotional spotlight to all things pumpkin. The first flush of products range from pumpkin cream cheese on a pumpkin bagel at Einstein Bros. and sister concepts Noah’s and Manhattan Bagel, to the Pumpkin Spice Latte, now an end-of-summer tradition for Starbucks and some competitors.

Delilah’s in Chicago will showcase pumpkin-flavored brews this week at its Harvest and Pumpkin Beer Festival. So many pumpkin-flavored beers are hitting the market that BeerAdvocate.com, a website for suds aficionados nationwide, is touting a pumpkin beer round-up and tasting for Sylvania, Ohio. The special brew has been a traditional offering of such beer-focused concepts as BJ’s and Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.

Bob Evans Farms, the family dining chain, has rolled out a new fall menu that includes both pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. Other seasonal items include hot cider.

The Au Bon Pain bakery-cafe chain is featuring pumpkin in both sweet and savory applications, with a pumpkin muffin and a pumpkin soup.

In addition to its seasonal latte, Starbucks is featuring a variety of pumpkin-flavored bakery items, including a pumpkin loaf, a pumpkin scone and a pumpkin cream cheese muffin.

Meanwhile, the blogosphere speculated that Dunkin’ Donuts would soon complete the limited-time rollout of its pumpkin muffin, another fall tradition. Last year, Dunkin' also offered a pumpkin doughnut and its own version of the pumpkin latte.