I noticed there was a grand opening for two different stores. As usual, they try to do things in an effort to draw a crowd. Both of them were trying the free giveaway routine except one business was giving away free food where they were having a free barbeque of sort while the other was giving away items in the form of door prizes.
Interestingly enough, the one that was giving away free items seemed to have drew the bigger crowd. My personal thought is that the people that would be going to the stores placed more value in the items even though they were so cheap. Whereas when it comes to things like a hotdog the assumption is they could always make it themselves anyways. I would think you would be able to attract a more targeted audience too by giving away free stuff that the customers you hope to attract will appreciate.