St. Louis does not hold its parade on the eleventh. The St. Louis Regional Veterans Day Parade and Celebration runs on the Saturday before, organised by Soldiers Memorial Military Museum and the City of St. Louis. The parade forms up at 18th and Olive downtown and works its way to Soldiers Memorial, with a ceremony on the museum’s south steps once it arrives. Veterans Day itself is Wednesday, November 11, and that is the day the free meals land. Two separate days. The meals are also less settled than the internet suggests: every list you will find today is last year’s list. We checked.
The parade
The route is short and downtown: the parade starts at 18th and Olive and works its way east to Soldiers Memorial Military Museum on Chestnut. In recent years it has stepped off at 10.30 a.m., with the ceremony following on the south steps of the memorial at about 11.30. Soldiers Memorial and the City of St. Louis organise it between them.
The 2026 date is not confirmed. The city’s own Veterans Day events list is empty at the time of writing, which is normal for September. The parade has consistently run on the Saturday before the holiday, and that would make it November 7 this year, but we are not going to print that as settled until the city posts it. We are watching and will update this page when they do.
Watch out for dates in circulation that cannot be right. One widely repeated listing says Saturday, November 9. November 9 is a Monday in 2026; the November Saturdays are the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th.
Free meals: what is actually confirmed for 2026
Same problem, different subject. Search for Veterans Day free meals right now and you will find long lists with 2026 in the headline. Open the restaurants’ own pages and the offers are from 2025. Applebee’s Veterans Day page, as this was written in mid-September, still says the free entree is available on Tuesday, November 11, which was last year’s date.
So we are not going to publish a list of offers that no restaurant has agreed to. What we can tell you is the pattern, because it is remarkably stable. The chains that run a free Veterans Day meal have run it for years, most announce in the last week of October, and the terms rarely move: dine-in only, one meal per veteran, a limited menu to choose from, drinks and tip not included, and participating locations only. Applebee’s has run its offer for eighteen consecutive years. Golden Corral, Texas Roadhouse, Chili’s, Denny’s, Red Robin, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans and Buffalo Wild Wings have all been regular participants.
One local note that trips people up: the offers run on Wednesday the 11th, not on parade Saturday. If you march downtown and go looking for a free meal afterwards, you are a few days early.
We are checking the chains’ own pages weekly and will list each 2026 offer here as the restaurant confirms it, with the date we confirmed it. Nothing goes on this page from an aggregator.
What counts as proof of service
This is the question that actually causes trouble at the door, and the answer is broader than most people expect. Applebee’s published terms accept a Uniformed Services ID card, a Uniformed Services retired ID card, a current Leave and Earnings Statement, a veterans organization card such as American Legion or VFW, a DD214, a citation or commendation, and, simply, a photograph of yourself in uniform. Most chains use a similar list. If you served and you do not carry a card, a DD214 or a photo is usually enough. Call the specific location first, because the offer is franchise-level and the person answering the phone is the one who will be working the door.
Gifts for the veteran in your family
The veteran in your house is reading the top half of this page. If you are the one buying for him or her, this is the half that matters. These are the things that actually get worn and kept: the branch cap, the case for the flag that came off the casket, the box the medals finally come out of the drawer for. Twelve picks, all five branches, every one of them rated by people who bought it.
Army Veteran CapOfficially licensed, embroidered emblem. The cap half the column was wearing on Harbor Drive.4.8 stars, 508 ratings
Navy Veteran CapProudly Served, USN. The most-reviewed branch cap on this list by a wide margin.4.8 stars, 3,300 ratings
Marine Corps Veteran CapRothco, black, USMC. Built heavier than the novelty caps and it holds its shape.4.8 stars, 614 ratings
Air Force Veteran CapEagle Emblems, cotton, embroidered branch logo rather than a printed patch.4.8 stars, 1,200 ratings
Coast Guard Veteran CapProudly Served, USCG. The branch everyone else forgets to stock.4.8 stars, 383 ratings
Burial Flag Display CaseSized for the folded 5 by 9.5 foot interment flag. If the flag is still in the box it came home in, this is the gift.4.7 stars, 11,000 ratings
Engraved Flag CaseThe same case, engraved with the name, branch and years served. Every branch available.4.7 stars, 6,900 ratings
Medal and Ribbon Shadow BoxNineteen by fourteen inches, UV-protected front. For the medals that have been in a drawer for thirty years.4.6 stars, 554 ratings
Challenge Coin CabinetHolds seventy coins, lockable, wall mounted. Most veterans already have the coins and nowhere to put them.4.6 stars, 129 ratings
Thank You Challenge CoinsA set of twenty. What VFW posts and parade organizers hand out on the eleventh.4.8 stars, 357 ratings
DD-214 ShirtThe form that proves it, on a shirt. Also the document that gets you the free meal on the eleventh.4.6 stars, 227 ratings
Outdoor American FlagThree by five feet, made in the USA, embroidered stars and sewn stripes rather than printed.4.6 stars, 38,300 ratingsNot what you were after? Amazon carries far more than twelve things, and every branch, unit and era is in there somewhere.
Browse all veteran gifts on Amazon
Straight to your branch: Army / Navy / Marines / Air Force / Coast Guard
Top of St. Louis is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through the links above, at no extra cost to you. Ratings shown were read on September 16, 2026. We do not list a product we have not checked.
Where to eat after the parade
The parade finishes at Soldiers Memorial on Chestnut, which puts you downtown at about midday. These are from our own lists, ranked by Insider Score. Sugarfire is the short walk; Blues City Deli is the highest score in the whole city and worth the drive south.
Blues City Deli
Insider Score9.9
Deli · Benton Park
The highest score on any of our St. Louis lists. Benton Park, south of downtown, and there will be a queue. Worth it.
The Fountain on Locust
Insider Score8.7
American · 3037 Locust St
Midtown on Locust, a short drive west of the memorial. An art deco room that takes a crowd and does ice cream properly.
Little Fox
Insider Score8.4
New American · Fox Park
Fox Park, south of downtown. The one to book if you want the day to end at a proper table rather than a counter.
Sugarfire Smoke House
Insider Score7.5
Barbecue · 605 Washington Ave
On Washington Avenue, the closest of these to Soldiers Memorial and an easy walk once the crowd breaks up.
Scores are Top of St. Louis Insider Scores. Restaurant photographs from Yelp.