The honest answer first: Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q does not publish a chain-wide military discount the way some barbecue chains do, and anyone telling you a fixed percentage applies at all locations is guessing. With roughly 35 restaurants and a strong Southern footprint, what exists is a set of local practices that vary by restaurant and by day. Here is how to find out what yours does, and what it is worth when you find it.
Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q prices at a glance
The prices referenced on this page, collected up front. They vary by location and change without notice.
| Order | Menu price | Saving at 10% |
|---|---|---|
| Smoked Bologna Sandwich | $9.05 | $0.91 |
| Pulled Pork Plate | $14.12 | $1.41 |
| Brisket Plate | $18.11 | $1.81 |
| Full Rack Baby Back Ribs | $33.00 | $3.30 |
Why the answer is local
Jim 'N Nick's is small — around 35 restaurants against Dickey's roughly 380 and Sonny's roughly 100 — and it runs a from-scratch model in which every kitchen smokes its own meat and makes its own sides, sausage and biscuits. That structure pushes decisions down to the restaurant. A location near a base in Alabama, Georgia or Texas may well take care of service members as a matter of course; one in a suburban shopping center may have nothing formal at all.
So do not walk in assuming. Call the specific restaurant and ask the manager, and ask three things: whether there is a discount, what percentage, and whether it applies to the whole check or just the entrée.
What to bring
- A military ID (CAC), a VA card, or a state driver's license with a veteran designation. These are the standard forms accepted anywhere a discount exists.
- DD-214 if you have nothing else — accepted at many places, but it is a document, not a wallet card, so photograph it.
- Ask before you order, not at the register. Some restaurants have to apply it at the point of entry, and reversing a check is a worse conversation than a pre-emptive question.
- Expect it to be for the ID holder, not automatically the whole table.
What it is actually worth
If your location offers the common 10 percent, here is the real arithmetic against current menu prices:
Which puts it in perspective. A discount is worth having, but on this menu the structural savings are bigger than any percentage off. Ordering one full rack at $33.00 to split rather than two half racks at $44.24 saves $11.24 — more than three times what 10 percent off a rack is worth. That and the other value plays are covered in the guide to Jim 'N Nick's specials and deals.
Does it stack?
Almost never, and you should plan on that. Where restaurants offer a discount, the standard condition is that it does not combine with other promotions, coupons or group pricing. Two practical implications:
- On a catering order, ask separately. Group orders here are quoted locally rather than off a national sheet, so a manager quoting a large order has room to make a decision that a cashier does not. The mechanics of that conversation are in the Jim 'N Nick's catering guide.
- Compare, do not combine. If a coupon is worth more than the discount, use the coupon.
Veterans Day and how this chain compares
Veterans Day is the one date when almost every barbecue chain does something, and it is also the day participation is most uneven. Call the week before rather than showing up on the day — and if you are going, go early. Restaurants open at 11:00, they are quietest at weekday lunch, and that is also when the pork has just come off the smoker.
For context on the category: Mission BBQ is built around military and first-responder support, with proceeds directed to those organizations, and it is the reference point people usually have in mind when they ask this question. Jim 'N Nick's is a different proposition — a 1985 Birmingham scratch kitchen whose argument is what happens in the kitchen, not a national program. Judge it on the food and the menu prices, and treat any local discount as a bonus rather than a reason to choose it.