As the summer of 2025 stretches on, a familiar phrase is cropping up again in the American dining and nightlife scene: "recession specials." What might sound like a throwback to the Great Recession nearly two decades ago is, in fact, a sign of the times. Businesses from Brooklyn to San Francisco are dusting off the old playbook, offering deals that wink at economic anxiety while providing customers with a little relief—and a bit of levity—amid growing concerns about the U.S. economy.
The trend is unmistakable. According to CNBC and The New York Times, establishments are not just quietly discounting their menus—they're leaning into the cultural moment, using the word "recession" as a tongue-in-cheek selling point. Brooklyn's Clever Blend coffee shop now entices customers with a $6 gelato and espresso "recession special." Over in Manhattan, Wicked Willy's bar hosted a "Recession Pop Party" earlier this August, their Instagram post gleefully proclaiming, "The recession is BACK! Get ready to dance and party all night long!" Even the Market Hotel, a Brooklyn concert venue, joined the fray with an event promising, "We're serving economic anxiety with a side of electro-pop, bloghaus, and auto-tuned glam. Dress like rent's due and you're dancing through it."
But the movement isn't limited to New York's nightlife. Out west, Super Duper, a burger chain with 18 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, introduced its own "Recession Burger" as a seasonal special this summer. The burger's name, as Ed Onas, Super Duper's vice president of operations, told CNBC, wasn't just a marketing ploy. It actually harks back to the Depression-era Oklahoma-style smash burger, a clever way to stretch ground beef by piling on sliced onions. Once the name stuck, the chain decided to offer a full "Recession Combo"—the burger, fries, and a beverage—for just $10, a $5 savings over the usual price for those add-ons.
"That's kind of where the name of the burger plays in … And we figured, we're calling it the 'Recession Combo,' why don't we just offer a deal that makes it a really good value for our guests?" Onas explained in his interview with CNBC. He added, "Inflation has kind of been going on, and we figured it's a nice offer for a short amount of time for our guests." In a sign of just how much the idea resonated, the combo meal went viral on a local San Francisco subreddit, racking up 1,400 upvotes and 170 comments. "Obviously, we were happy about it. We didn't realize that it was going to get as much attention as it did," Onas said. "We were happy, and our guests were happy, and at the end of the day, that's what it's all about." The burger's popularity has been so overwhelming that Super Duper now plans to add it to its menu permanently.
All this might sound like a bit of fun, but there's a serious backdrop. According to data from the University of Michigan, consumer sentiment has taken a sharp downturn. The university's consumer sentiment index dropped to 58.6 in August 2025, down from 61.7 in July, marking a 13.7% year-over-year decline. Joanne Hsu, director of the surveys of consumers at the University of Michigan, told CNBC, "What's very clear from the consumer sentiment data is that consumers are broadly bracing for a slowdown in the economy and a deterioration—not just with inflation, expecting inflation to get worse—but they're also expecting business conditions to deteriorate." She added, "They're expecting labor markets to weaken and unemployment rates to go up. And what you're seeing with these businesses could be a reaction to that."
Indeed, the roots of this wave of recession specials can be traced not only to current economic anxieties but also to the policy landscape. In early April 2025, President Donald Trump introduced a new slate of tariffs, sparking fears of a trade war and sending a chill through both Wall Street and Main Street. As reported by CNBC and The New York Times, the phrase "recession indicator" became a tongue-in-cheek meme on social media, with young Americans pointing to everything from empty stores to discount cocktails as signs of an impending downturn.
For businesses, these "recession specials" serve a dual purpose. On the one hand, they offer a bit of financial relief to customers feeling the pinch of inflation and economic uncertainty. On the other, they're a clever way to tap into the zeitgeist, drawing crowds with humor and a sense of camaraderie. As Ed Onas put it, "We didn't realize that it was going to get as much attention as it did. We were happy, and our guests were happy, and at the end of the day, that's what it's all about."
But beyond the jokes and Instagram captions, there's a real shift in consumer behavior. Joanne Hsu notes that a lack of confidence in income reliability is likely to lead to a pullback in spending. "Young people are feeling just as bad about the economy as older folks, and in some months they feel even worse than older folks," she observed. "Across the age distribution, people agree that the trajectory of the economy has soured." This malaise is reflected not only in the data but in the lived experiences of everyday Americans—whether they're opting for a discounted burger, a themed party, or simply holding back on discretionary purchases.
This isn't the first time "recession specials" have made headlines. During the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, restaurants across New York and beyond offered similar deals as a way to survive the economic storm. As reported by Grub Street and The New York Times, those specials were seen as acts of survival, designed to keep customers coming in the door when wallets were tight. Now, nearly two decades later, the cycle appears to be repeating itself, with businesses once again turning to creative pricing and marketing to weather economic uncertainty.
It's not just a matter of nostalgia or branding. The rise of recession specials is a window into the broader mood of the country—a mix of anxiety, resilience, and, yes, a dash of humor. From the "Recession Pop Party" in Manhattan to the viral burger deal in San Francisco, these offers reflect both the challenges and the coping mechanisms of a nation on edge.
As the economic outlook remains cloudy, it's likely that more businesses will join in, offering deals that acknowledge the tough times while giving customers a reason to smile. Whether these specials are enough to buoy spirits—or bottom lines—remains to be seen. But for now, they're a small but telling sign of how Americans are adapting, together, to the uncertainties of 2025.