The Underrated Chain Where $5 Pizzas Are Still On The Menu (If You Go At The Right Time)

There's no better feeling than walking into your favorite spot for dinner only to realize that it's running a special on the very item you came to purchase. Whether that's Publix running its weekly deli-counter deals or Buffalo Wild Wings unveiling a nightly special on bone-in wings, it's an exciting feeling. The next time you're having a craving for Schlotzsky's, you might want to curb that appetite until after 5:00 p.m., as the chain is well-known for its $5 pizza deals.

Just in time for an early dinner, Schlotzsky's offers a $5 deal on 10-inch pizzas on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays after 5:00 p.m. While the chain does offer half a dozen pizza flavors, the $5 deal only encompasses Double Cheese and Pepperoni & Double Cheese. Premium pizzas, such as Meaty or Veggie, are down to $7 during the meal deal, but in both circumstances, you'll have to visit a Schlotzsky's in-person to partake. Add-ons, substitutions, gluten-free pizzas, and kids' pizzas aren't included in the deal, either. If Schlotzsky's wasn't already on our weekday deals you can't afford to ignore for its Wednesday BOGO pizza deal, the $5 deal would certainly put it on the map.

The $5 pizza deal is a big draw for Schlotzsky's, but it's by no means the only thing the chain is known for. Customers adore the chain for its calzones, soups, salads, and, more importantly, its sandwiches. Those meaty sandwiches helped give the chain its big break, leading customers to easily rate Schlotzsky's among the best sandwich chains for deli meat. "If [you] like [the] original sandwich, you will love the pizza," said one Reddit user, while a different Redditor stated, "I always got their Reuben, occasionally a different sandwich, but they had a smoked turkey and jalapeño pizza with spicy red pepper pesto that was so damn good."

The chain has been around since 1971, when Don and Dolores Dissman opened the first Schlotzsky's in Austin, Texas, selling sandwiches for just $2.95. Pizzas didn't hit the menu until the '80s, but when they did, the chain launched with specialty and classic alike. Schlotzky's boomed in the '90s but almost closed for good by the early 2000s. The brand was totally reinvented by the 2010s, and although things looked precarious for a time, Schlotzsky's is still going strong with 289 locations throughout the U.S., spanning from Alabama to New Mexico with various states in between.