• Buffalo Wild Wings Death
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• Buffalo Wild Wings Wing Flavors

Find a Buffalo Wild Wings® near you. Get directions, check out dine-in hours, and discover events in your neighborhood. In contrast, Buffalo Wild Wings is nothing short of a sports bar. Unlike Hooters where the main focus of the restaurant is the girls, BWW is all about sports. If it's really slow, maybe people will ask you a question. Though as a part of the Buffalo Wild Wings experience, you are supposed to form a personal relationship with the guest. Head to Buffalo Wild Wings® today. Hand-spun in a signature sauce or seasoning. It's what we're famous for. Head to Buffalo Wild Wings® today.

Wings. Beer. Sports. Gambling

Most sports fans know the tagline of Wings – Beer – Sports without hearing the name of the bar and restaurant. It’s nearly impossible to watch or listen to sports on TV or radio without noticing copious ads for Buffalo Wild Wings. It appears as though the chain of sports bars is looking to expand beyond just showing the games on TV and slinging wings and beer.

Buffalo Wild Wings may be looking to add a sportsbook element to their bar and restaurants. According to Micah Roberts from Gaming Today, Buffalo Wild Wings is exploring options to find a way to get involved with sports betting.

Your friendly neighborhood sports bar/sportsbook

The wing joint has more than 1,200 locations around the country. Last year Buffalo Wild Wings was purchased by Arby’s, which has more than 3,000 locations. The concept of bars and taverns offering the ability to gamble isn’t exactly unique.

States like Nevada and Illinois have plenty of them. What is different is that Buffalo Wild Wings wants to offer sports betting. According to the report, Buffalo Wild Wings is considering booking sports bets themselves and not partnering with a third party like William Hill.

The number of Buffalo Wild Wings locations nationwide is great, but sports betting is only legal in a handful of states right now. Off the bat, we’ll be looking at fewer than 100 Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar and books. Still, the 14 locations spread around the state of New Jersey will make legal sports wagering more convenient to mainstream sports fans that might not visit a casino or racetrack to place a wager or set up a mobile wagering account.

The marketing potential is huge for Buffalo Wild Wings. A large TV and radio ad budget, a large following on social media, and massive loyalty club are just the beginning. The potential to have Arby’s as an affiliate possibly hawking a mobile wagering app could make Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar and book serious competition for the established sports betting operations.

Buffalo Wild Wings Death

Boyd Gaming And Golden Entertainment also into tavern gaming

If this all works out, Buffalo Wild Wings could be just one of the companies that bring sports betting to mainstream America with outlets all over the country. There could be other companies ready to roll out a similar plan throughout the country.

Boyd Gaming purchased the Lattner Entertainment Group in Illinois for $100 million earlier this year. The company places slot machines in 200 bars and taverns throughout the state of Illinois. When sports gambling becomes legal in the state, these locations might become an offshoot of Boyd Gaming sportsbooks. This makes the 14 Buffalo Wild Wings locations seem quaint.

Golden Entertainment has three divisions including a slot route operatormore than 10,000 locations in Nevada and Montana. They have a deal pending to begin operations in Pennsylvania. Last year the company purchased the Stratosphere casino in Las Vegas. Over time the company will integrate their chain of taverns in Nevada with the casino company. There will be a PT’s Pub inside of the casino. It’s not too difficult to imagine the Stratosphere powering some kind of sportsbook for this chain of taverns. Regardless of other states, it makes sense for their popular taverns in Nevada.

Photo by Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

Buffalo Wild Wings (originally Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck,^[2] hence the numeronymBW3) is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam which specializes in Buffalo wings and sauces.

As of June 2017, it had 1,238 locations (625 directly owned by the company, and 612 franchised locations) across all 50 U.S. states and DC.^[3] An alternate nickname in recent usage by the company is B-Dubs.^[4][5] The company is operated out of Sandy Springs, Georgia, home to its parent company, Inspire Brands, just north of Atlanta. However, the brand still runs its support center out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the location of its previous headquarters.^[6]

History[edit]

Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck was founded in 1982 by Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery. Lowery's parents had become Disbrow's guardians as they were his ice skating coaches. After Disbrow had finished judging an amateur figure skating competition at Kent State University, the pair met up to get some Buffalo-style chicken wings to eat. Failing to find any restaurant serving them, they decided to open their own restaurant serving wings. For the first location, they selected a location near The Ohio State University, Columbus. Weck was an original part of the name, as beyond the wings and its dozen sauces, the restaurant served beef on weck.^[7]

The pair brought on an additional partner, Mark Lutz, within six months after opening. None had any restaurant experience and thus ran all aspects of the business, including its finances, haphazardly. The restaurant expanded into a chain over the next decade as it added six additional locations in Ohio, Indiana, and Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The Colorado location was selected as they skied there.^[7]

The company began to franchise in 1992 by working with Francorp, a Chicago-based law firm. The original franchise fee was $15,000 to $20,000 plus a percentage of sales. Its bottled wing sauces were then manufactured by Wilsey, Inc. of Atlanta. The company's headquarters was set up in 1992 in Cincinnati. By 1993, eight more locations were added, primarily in Ohio.^[7]

In late 1994, Disbrow hired a part-time chief financial officer, Sally Smith, who was employed at his new father-in-law's business. In order to get her full-time, the company moved its headquarters to the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area where Smith wished to stay. Smith had to deal with issues with lenders and the Internal Revenue Service and a potential bankruptcy as a part overhauling its finances. Smith was unable to determine the firm's net income/loss prior to 1995. During 1995, the company did $12 million in revenue with loss of $1.6 million.^[7]

Expecting more growth in 1995, BW3 designed a new prototype free-standing outlet with clear separation between the bar and dining areas and seating 190 in a 5,000- to 7,500-square-foot space. This was a shift in strategy from a college sports-bar to casual dining. The company looked closer at new franchisees' qualifications. Existing franchisees were encouraged to add more locations while more corporate locations were planned. At that time, there were 48 locations with 12 corporate owned.^[7]

Smith was promoted to president and CEO in August 1996, while Disbrow became chairman of the board. At the end of the year, 35 new locations were opened. An initial public stock offering was considered in 1998, but discarded given unfavorable market conditions. After using different name variations, bw-3 and Buffalo Wild Wings, in different markets in its first national ad campaign market; the decision was made to standardize the name throughout the system with the latter name. The company moved to increase home sales of their sauces by upgrading the packaging.^[7]

The 100th location opened in October 1999 in Apple Valley, Minnesota a short drive from its corporate headquarters. At the time, there were 23 company owned restaurants. Three venture capital firms and other purchased a majority stake, $8.5 million in shares, available in a December 1999 private placement. The funding was planned to fund expansion with expectation to have 260 sites by late 2003. The company tested several new sauces in 2000 but only added two to the menu with its first dessert. In 2000, the chain, now calling its locations, Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, was in 19 states and 140 locations (at year end) with one finally in the city of its signature menu item, Buffalo, New York.^[7]

System-wide revenue was $150 million in 2001 with same-stores averaged growth of 8 percent per year. The company began pushing takeout sales. In late 2001, the company signed on Frito-Lay to its plans for branded potato chips to the retail market.^[7]

Disbrow died in October 2002, while Smith continued as company executive with Lowery as vice president of franchise construction. There were 211 locations in 27 states by the end of third quarter of 2003.^[7]

In 2010, the company announced an expansion into Canada.^[8] In 2015, Buffalo Wild Wings expanded in the United Arab Emirates when it opened a restaurant in Dubai.^[9]

In March 2013, the company took a minority stake in PizzaRev upscale pizza restaurant.^[10] In August 2014, BW3 had purchased a majority stake in Rusty Taco chain^[11] and changed its name to R Taco the next year.^[12]

In November 2017, Roark Capital Group and The Wendy's Company, co-owners of Arby's Restaurant Group, announced its plan to purchase the chain for about $2.4 billion plus debt.^[13][14] This deal was completed on February 5, 2018 with Arby's Restaurant Group being renamed Inspire Brands and set up as the holding parent company to Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, and R Taco. Inspire Restaurant Group intends for each restaurant to keep their individual brands, name, logos, and operating autonomously.^[15] On September 5, 2018, Inspire Brands subsidiary R Taco announced it was changing its name back to Rusty Taco.

In November 2019, a group of adults and children, which included people of African-American descent at a Naperville, Illinois location were asked to move seating by two employees, apparently at the request of a regular customer.^[16]. The chain responded by firing the two offending employees, and the offending customer was banned for life from entrance from any location.^[17]

On November 7, 2019, a Buffalo Wild Wings general manager died after becoming exposed to a volatile mix of a cleaning agent and another acidic cleanser. Ten other people in the Burlington, Massachusetts restaurant had symptoms of discomfort in this 'serious hazmat material incident' and received treatment at local hospitals.^[18]

Concept[edit]

The chain is best known for Buffalo-style chicken wings along with over a dozen sauces, as well as a complement of other items such as chicken tenders and legs. The chain's menu also features appetizers, burgers, tacos, salads, and desserts, along with beer, wine, and other beverages. They are known for their famous 'Blazin Wing Challenge.' They challenge customers to eat 12 of their hottest wings under six minutes. The winners receive a free T-shirt. The restaurants feature an open layout with a bar area and patio seating flanked by over 50 televisions and media screens.^[19] Starting in 2016, the new restaurants being built follow a new type of layout that gives the guests the feeling as if they were actually in a sports stadium. Server uniforms consist of gray shorts and jerseys with the number 82, signifying the year that the chain was established in 1982.^[20]

Naming rights[edit]

• Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl – NCAA Division I FBS football

Gallery[edit]

Wing Roulette Buffalo Wild Wings Menu

• Buffalo Wild Wings location in Athens, Ohio

• The exterior of a Buffalo Wild Wings location in Carolina Forest, South Carolina

• A Buffalo Wild Wings in Carson, California

• A Buffalo Wild Wings in Gillette, Wyoming

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'US SEC: Form 10-K Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc'. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
2. ^'BUFFALO WILD WINGS – A Brief History'(PDF). 2012. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
3. ^'Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter Earnings per Share of $0.87'. February 7, 2017. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
4. ^'B-Dubs Buffalo Wild Wings app'.
5. ^'B-Dubs iPhone App'.
6. ^Reilly, Mark (February 5, 2018). 'Buffalo Wild Wings will be run out of Atlanta as Arby's deal closes'. bizjournals.com. St. Paul Business Journal. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
7. ^ ^abcdefghi'History of Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc'. International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 56. St. James Press. 2004. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via FundingUniverse.
8. ^Singleton, Sharon (August 18, 2010). 'Buffalo Wild Wings coming to Canada'. Toronto Sun. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
9. ^Overton Johnson, Stacie (September 6, 2015). 'Dubai Foodie News: Buffalo Wild Wings opens on Jumeirah Road, new brunches and more'. The National. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
10. ^'Buffalo Wild Wings dips into pizza business'. GoMN. KQGO-FM. March 19, 2013. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
11. ^Griswold, Alison (August 25, 2014). 'Buffalo Wild Wings Invests in Tacos and Pizza'. Slate. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
12. ^'Buffalo Wild Wings' Fast Casual R Taco Unveils Expansion Plans'. QSR magazine. Journalistic Inc. November 3, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
13. ^Bomey, Nathan. 'Arby's to acquire Buffalo Wild Wings for $2.4B in restaurant shakeup'. USA Today. USA Today. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
14. ^Isidore, Chris. 'Arby's is buying Buffalo Wild Wings'. CNN Money. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
15. ^Thorn, Bret (February 5, 2018). 'Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings new parent Inspire Brands debuts'. Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
16. ^Buffalo Wild Wings employees told a group to move because of a 'racist' regular, customers say|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/04/us/buffalo-wild-wings-employees-fired/index.html%7Cdate=November 5th, 2019
17. ^Template:‘I Was Appalled’: Black Diners Who Were Asked to Move at Buffalo Wild Wings Speak Out
18. ^Andersen, Travis (November 8, 2019). 'Buffalo Wild Wings worker who died after chemical exposure was married father of infant son'. The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
19. ^'Profile:Buffalo Wild Wings Inc (BWLD.O)'. Reuters. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
20. ^Hagerty, Marilyn (September 6, 2016). 'Buffalo Wild Wings a hot spot for students, sports fans'. Grand Forks Herald. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.

External links[edit]

• Official website

Buffalo Wild Wings Wing Flavors