Buffalo Wild Wings Go’s 100th location opened Wednesday on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Source: Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings opened its 100thu Go location Wednesday in New York City, four years after the sports bar chain unveiled its quick-service branch.
BWW Go sells the chain’s famous chicken wings and other classic menu items, but its locations are smaller and limited to delivery and takeout orders. For the sports bar chain, it’s a way to make its brand even more ubiquitous, offering customers more convenience.
As of 2018, Buffalo Wild Wings is part of Inspire Brands, which is backed by private equity firm Roark Capital. Originally formed after a merger between BWW and Arby’s, Inspire has since added other chains, including Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John’s, Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins.
Inspire it is According to reports considering going public in late 2024 or 2025 and seeking a $20 billion valuation.
BWW is the second largest US casual dining chain in the bar and grill category with a 14.4% market share, trailing only Dine Brands’ Applebee’s, according to Barclays research. It has established a chicken wing dominance among its closest competitors, serving more than 3 million gallons of ranch and blue cheese dressing in 2023.
However, the casual dining segment has struggled, with publicly traded rivals such as of chili and Red Robin permanently stuck in reverse mode.
Buffalo Wild Wings’ revenue fell 1 percent in 2023 to $2.32 billion, according to franchise disclosure documents. A fast-growing spinoff like Go could make Inspire more attractive to potential public market investors.
Opening a traditional Buffalo Wild Wings location requires an initial investment of $2.44 million to $4.83 million, depending on the restaurant’s location and other factors, according to franchise disclosure documents. In comparison, a Go location will set the franchisee back about $560,000 to $1.05 million.
While a BWW sports bar is about 6,000 square feet on average, a Go location is about 1,500 square feet. This means cheaper properties that are faster to build and easier to operate.
“With the ability to fit into a smaller footprint, it has the recognition of an established brand with the limitless potential of an emerging one,” said Jack Litman, president of Munson Group and franchisee of 100u Go location.
Package pickup
The Go format is primarily intended to reach customers who sometimes don’t want to lose their couches for a sports bar.
Before the pandemic, takeout accounted for 15 percent of Buffalo Wild Wings’ sales, according to John Bowie, BWW’s brand president. Now, takeout and delivery make up about a third of BWW’s sales.
“This was an opportunity for us to take the takeaway part of the business, put it in a stand-alone unit and put it in a very convenient location where our customer is,” Bowie told CNBC.
As of Wednesday, BWW has branded its entire out-of-store business with the Go name, as well.
Buffalo Wild Wings Go
Courtesy: Buffalo Wild Wings Go
BWW’s off-site growth mirrors that of the broader chicken wing category, which has grown in popularity during the pandemic. Like pizza, chicken wings travel well when delivered, but they also offer more variety, with an array of sauces and rubs to change up the flavor.
While pizza chains like it Domino and Pizza Hut have seen sales struggle post-pandemic as pizza fatigue sets in, chicken wings haven’t slowed down in the same way.
For example, fast-casual chain and stock exchange my love Wingstop reported strong same-store sales growth over the past year and a half, bucking industry trends. Bernstein analyst Danilo Gargiulo wrote in a February research note that Wingstop has the potential to be “the next Domino’s.” (Roark Capital previously owned Wingstop but exited its investment a year and a half after the chain’s IPO.)
Other chains are now also looking to chicken wings to boost their sales. Restaurant Brands International’s Popeyes added chicken wings to its menu permanently last year.
BWW Go also gives the chain an opportunity to better compete with its fast-food competitors. The chain can tweak its limited menu to appeal to customers looking for a convenient dinner.
BWW Chief Marketing Officer Tristan Meline told CNBC that in the future the chain may be inclined to offer more specialty sauces, menu items or specials to Go customers.
Growing interest
BWW plans to continue adding to its current footprint of more than 1,300 sports bars, but Go will open locations at a much faster pace, according to Bowie.
“It takes a long time to get approved by a sports bar and build a sports bar, but we’ve already seen with the 60 franchisees we have now that they can start knocking those out and the growth is going to be very exciting,” he said. he said.
BWW already has nearly 600 commitments from franchisees to open additional Go locations. About 85% of its operators also franchise with other Inspire-owned chains, such as Dunkin’ or Arby’s.
But calls to franchise are also coming from outside Inspire. Bowie said he is hearing from large franchisees who already operate multiple concepts.
The chain plans to open another 50 Go locations by the end of the year.