The '90s Arby's Deal Everyone Dreams Would Come Back

It is known that Arby's has the meats, and according to its customers, it's the most underrated fast food chain in operation. But like every other drive-thru option out there, its prices have risen steadily over the years, with inflation seemingly driving up costs over time, despite the chain bringing back various promotional deals over the years.

If only we could return to simpler, cheaper times. We wouldn't even necessarily set the time machine to go all the way back to the 1960s, when its roast beef sandwiches cost a mere 69 cents (no wonder boomers have such fond memories of the chain). No, if we could just revisit the '90s, when Arby's offered the deal to end all deals: five roast beef sandwiches for $5, stylized as "5 for $5," (via YouTube).

This deal first appeared in the early 1990s, and even for that time, it was considered a nice discount on the sandwiches, and it really put Arby's on the map. Of course, any time someone mentions the promo, the internet inevitably wishes it would become a reality once again. "This [deal] was a lifesaver in college," one Redditor reminisced. On a different thread, another user who formerly worked at Arby's during the bygone era mentioned that they didn't think much of it at the time, but, "Now that it's gone I'd kill for them to bring it back."

Since the 5 for $5 proved so successful, you might be wondering whether Arby's would ever bring the promo back. As a matter of fact, the chain has revived it several times since ending the deal. It initially came back as 5 for $5.55, then as 5 for $5.95 in 2002 — not quite the same, but pretty close, and still a good price for five beefy sandwiches on tasty rolls. Arby's flirted with the concept in 2020 and 2021, offering customers a five-for-$10 deal. But then, in 2023, the sandwich chain announced that it would be giving the people what they really wanted: The 5 for $5 would be returning for real, but only for a limited time and through the app.

Arby's repeated the deal in the summer of 2024 but seized upon the opportunity to get more customers to interact with its brand by requiring them to become Rewards members to obtain the excellent price on roast beef sandwiches. For some reason, Arby's didn't continue to offer the 5 for $5 the following summer, nor did it run the promo nationwide in 2026.