Capriotti's Sandwich Shop to Buy Wing Zone

Capriotti's Sandwich Shop announced on Monday that it has acquired Wing Zone, a chicken wing delivery concept focused on serving college markets.

Capriotti’s said in a press release that it had seen “incredible success in 2020,” including selling at least 106 new franchise locations to multi-unit franchisees and seeing record profitability for existing stores. 

As for why it purchased Wing Zone, which is currently also breaking off-premise sales records and selling franchises, Capriotti’s credited a “mutual focus on serving fans and flavor-seekers across the nation the highest quality products both in-store and off-premise as demand for delivery and online ordering skyrockets.”

Restaurant Business Online reported that Wing Zone's sales overall were down 12% from last year. The chicken wing restaurant has just below 70 units worldwide. 

Wing Zone CEO Matt Friedman has long been a vocal opponent of third party delivery apps and a champion of restaurants running their own delivery operations. 

Capriotti’s press release hinted at collaboration in the delivery space and a continuation of Friedman’s mission. 

“Between Capriotti's tech-forward strategy, infrastructure and profitability, and Wing Zone's innovative delivery systems that cater to the rising demand for off-premise dining, both brands will bring each other a tremendous depth of service, meant to cement Capriotti's and Wing Zone as top players in the fast-casual sector,” the release read.

1851 Franchise contacted Wing Zone and Capriotti’s for comment on the sale price and other particulars, but the companies did not reply by the time of this article’s publication.