Wing Zone Looks Toward Charlotte, North Carolina for Franchise Expansion

Founded in 1991 at the University of Florida by self-proclaimed “Flavorholics” Matt Friedman and Adam Scott, Wing Zone grew first and foremost out of their love of great wings and amazing flavors. The franchise was born in their fraternity house kitchen, and the concept quickly flourished through delivery to their fellow college students.

After opening several more Wing Zone locations in college markets across the country, Scott and Friedman began offering franchises in 2000. With nearly 100 locations across the U.S. and growing, the company has mapped out more than 50 cities around the Southeast that are predicted to support explosive franchise growth. Currently, Wing Zone has set its sights on Charlotte, North Carolina.

With one successful Wing Zone already open in Charlotte, Founder and CEO Matt Friedman is confident that the market shows great growth potential. All of Wing Zone’s growth this year is slated for already established markets as the brand transitions into focusing primarily on key proven areas.

“Many of our North Carolina restaurants are top performers,” said Friedman. “In terms of fast-casual wing delivery, Charlotte has not proven to be a competitive market for our specific category. It offers an excellent opportunity for more successful Wing Zone locations.”

Wing Zone restaurants have been most successful in markets that are oftentimes overlooked, said Friedman.

“Everyone rushes to the metropolitan cities, but they forget that there's so much competition there,” he said.

Overall, Wing Zone thrives in mid-tier markets where the franchise is able to dominate without hundreds of competitive restaurants vying for the business of its customers. Friedman is quick to point out that Wing Zone is not a sports bar, which means restaurants such as Buffalo Wild Wings are not a competitor.

“When we go into a market, it’s because that market is new, innovative and something our future customers can get excited about,” said Friedman.

Charlotte matches the size of many of Wing Zone’s most lucrative locations. “Our ideal market has a population of around fifty or sixty thousand,” said Friedman. “We’ve narrowed down the core areas in this range and Charlotte matches the profile.”

In addition to a non-competitive market and ideal size, Charlotte also falls perfectly in line with Wing Zone’s target consumer. Home to several colleges and universities, including the University of North Carolina Charlotte, the area is undoubtedly a college-friendly one, and according to Friedman, the younger demographic has proven to be one of Wing Zone’s biggest customer bases. Along with its students, the middle-income families of the greater Charlotte area also fit the franchise’s usual blue-collar, dual-income consumer profile.

Beyond the consumer, the company is confident that Charlotte’s mid-range market will also draw a range of ideal franchisees. The company is interested in both large, multi-unit entrepreneurs looking to dominate the smaller market and local franchisees who are looking to open one or two locations with a full-time focus. Wing Zone offers optimal options for these smaller market franchisees in every way..

“If a high profile Wing Zone location adopts full-time third-party delivery they have around ten employees,“ said Friedman. “With their own delivery, it adds another five to 10 employees. In some of our older restaurants, we have dance floors in the kitchens because they’re so big. Now, we’ve been able to make our model smaller with more seats and an efficient kitchen.”

“We are able to make an investment a lot more attractive,” added COO Hair Parra. “With our more efficient layout, an 800 square-foot restaurant is able to generate the same amount of sales as one measuring 1,600 square feet.”

The company has done extensive research in order to determine Charlotte’s market capacity. In order to avoid over saturation, Friedman predicts a capacity of eight to 10 new Wing Zone locations, with only two or three needed for developing a market.

“Wing Zone is in major growth mode,” said Friedman. “We’re investing heavily in our restaurants and bringing new franchisees to the system. Through that mentality of targeted growth and discipline, we will be able to get to mass scale in the next several years. We’re truly ready for it.”

The overall investment for a Wing Zone franchise is around $250,000 with a $25,000 franchise fee. Prospective franchisees can get into a proven franchise model for as little as $50,000 down.  With average restaurant sales of $750,000+, the ratio of sales to investment leaves Wing Zone franchisees as satisfied as their Flavorholic consumers. For more information, please visit https://wingzonefranchise.com.