See Veterans Day Discounts At Local Restaurants, Stores In 2021

WAYLAND, MA — For Veterans Day 2021, a host of stores and restaurants across the MetroWest and Worcester areas are offering discounts and freebies to service members.

Here's a list of local spots to get those discounts. If you're business owner offering something to veterans this year, email neal.mcnamara@patch.com.

• 110 Grill — Free lunch entrée for active-duty members or veterans. Locations in Wayland, Worcester, Millbury, Hopkinton and Marlborough.
• Rail Trail Flatbread Co. — Free meals all day on Nov. 11 for veterans. Located in Hudson.
• Launch Entertainment Park — One-hour free for veterans. Located in Westborough.
• 7-Eleven — Free coffee or Big Gulp for veterans by downloading store app. Multiple locations.
• Applebee's — Free meal from a select menu for veterans and active-duty members. Locations in Worcester, Hudson and Milford.
• Outback Steakhouse — Free blooming onion and soda. Locations in Auburn, Leominster, Bellingham.
• Galliford's Restaurant & Tavern — Free appetizer with any entrée for veterans. Located in Mendon.
• Green Meadows — A four-day celebration at the Southbridge cannabis store will feature special events and activities for veterans.
• Dunkin' — Free donut for veterans. Multiple locations.
• Starbucks — Free 12-ounce (tall) hot coffee for veterans, active-duty members and spouses. Multiple locations.
• Hooters — Get a free entrée from a select menu with the purchase of a beverage. Locations in Shrewsbury, Dedham.
• Buffalo Wild Wings — Free side of wings for veterans. Locations in Shrewsbury, Fitchburg.
• Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub — Free entrée for veterans between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Veterans Day. Locations in Marlborough, Framingham, Hudson, Milford, Worcester and Franklin.
• Wendy's — Free small breakfast combo with military ID. Multiple locations.
• IHOP — Free red, white and blue pancakes during restaurant hours. Locations in Framingham, Shrewsbury, Northborough.
• Planet Fitness — Veterans can work out for free at Massachusetts gyms through Nov. 15. Locations in Natick, Worcester, Shrewsbury, Marlborough.

Veterans Day, commemorated annually on Nov. 11, was first celebrated in 1919 to honor those who fought in World War I. It was initially called Armistice Day and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

The holiday’s origin is tied to the armistice, a temporary end of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany signed in France on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

It became Veterans Day in 1954, shortly following the end of the Korean War and less than a decade after World War II, after various veterans service organizations urged Congress to encompass veterans of all wars in their honor.