Feeding a crowd at Full Moon Bar-B-Que is unusually cheap, and the reason is simple: the base menu is already the cheapest in chain barbecue, so the arithmetic starts from a lower number than anywhere else. Eight people can eat pork sandwiches and sides here for under $88. Here is how the math works at every group size, and where people overspend.
Full Moon Bar-B-Que prices at a glance
The prices referenced on this page, collected up front. They vary by location and change without notice.
| Approach | What you order | Cost (8 people) | Per head |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual plates | 8 × Bar-B-Que Pork | $119.92 | $14.99 |
| Mixed | 4 plates + 4 sandwiches + 4 trimmings | $103.88 | $12.99 |
| Sandwiches and sides | 8 × pork sandwich + 8 trimmings | $87.84 | $10.98 |
The three ways to feed a group
The sandwich-and-side route wins by four dollars a head over plates, and nobody notices the difference at a table. That $10.98 per head scales cleanly: $219.60 for twenty, $549 for fifty, $1,098 for a hundred. Very few caterers of any kind will feed a hundred people barbecue for eleven dollars each.
What to add and what to skip
Two things are worth adding to a big order. The Rib Sandwich (3 bones) at $8.99 gives a group something to talk about for a dollar a head more than a sandwich lunch, and it is the cheapest way to put ribs on a table. The Pork Links & Pimento Cheese Plate at $9.99 is the most Alabama thing on the menu and works as a shared starter.
What to skip: the wings, on price. Twenty Buffalo Wings cost $39.80 and ten cost $19.99 — that is $1.99 a wing against $2.00, an eighteen-cent saving on the whole order. There is no bulk discount there, so order wings because people want wings, not because you think the twenty-count is a deal.
Building a plate order for twenty
- Cheapest credible spread: 20 regular pork sandwiches ($139.80) plus 20 Trimmings ($79.80) — $219.60, $10.98 a head.
- With ribs: swap six sandwiches for six 3-bone rib sandwiches and the total moves to about $231.60, still under $12 a head.
- Vegetarian cover: two 4-vegetable plates at $9.99 each. Confirm which of the day's vegetables are meat-free before you order.
- Something to start: two BBQ Pork Nachos at $11.99 or two Riblets at $11.49.
What travels and what does not
Pork travels best. It is chopped, it holds heat in a covered pan, and it does not dry out the way sliced brisket does over an hour. Ribs are second — they are fine warm and acceptable at room temperature. The things that suffer in transit are the fried items: Fried Green Tomatoes ($5.69 small, $8.69 large) and Southern Fried Catfish lose their crust within twenty minutes of leaving the kitchen, and no amount of foil saves them.
Chow chow is the sleeper here. It is a pickled relish, it travels indefinitely, and it is what makes the pork taste like Full Moon's pork rather than generic chopped pork. Ask for it on the side in a container for a group order so people can help themselves.
Ordering ahead
Full Moon runs about thirty restaurants, most of them in Alabama, and catering is handled restaurant by restaurant rather than through a national call center. That has two practical consequences. First, call the specific location rather than assuming a chain-wide order form covers you. Second, lead times, delivery, setup and whether large orders come in foil pans or on trays all vary by store — ask, and get the pickup time confirmed rather than implied.
Kitchens open at 10:30 and the lunch rush in Birmingham runs from about 11:30 to 1pm. A large order collected at 11:15 or after 2pm will be smoother for everyone. For portion planning at bigger numbers than this page covers, the BBQ catering guide has the per-person weights, and the Full Moon Bar-B-Que menu lists every current price.