Better Wings Are Just The Beginning

Buffalo Wings & Rings drives growth because of dedication to its chef-driven menu

SPONSOREDUpdated 8:08AM • 09/09/16

When it’s game day and you want to share in that experience with your family, where do you go? Traditional sports bars are loud, often crowded, not family friendly and typically serve low-quality food.

Enter the Cincinnati-based Buffalo Wings & Rings, which unlike most sports bars, is breaking the mold when it comes to merging elevated family dining with sports and chef-inspired food.

Philip Schram, chief development officer at Buffalo Wings & Rings, attributes the brand’s growth and success to its one-of-a-kind approach to family dining.

“What’s unique about our concept is that we’ve combined the sports experience with a higher level of dining,” he said. “We intentionally build our dining rooms so that families as well as die-hard fans can enjoy elevated food in a positive sports environment. It’s been one of the main reasons we’ve seen continued growth not only in guest counts, but also in new units opening across the country.”

One of the reasons behind this food-first philosophy at Buffalo Wings & Rings is Research & Development Chef Elliot Jablonsky. A greater Cincinnati chef legend, Jablonsky’s love of cooking began at the age of 16 when he first started cooking for small Cincinnati restaurant called Mozart’s. From there, he began cooking in several in Cincinnati’s best restaurants before opening his first restaurant in 1990 and several more since then including Cactus Pear, Tinks and Vineyard Café.

Since becoming R&D chef at Buffalo Wings & Rings, Jablonsky has been on a mission to increase menu selection and variety while infusing more contemporary and ethnic ingredients. The benefit to the brand’s franchise owners is that the dishes typically have high volume and margins because they are so appealing to guests.

“I look at Buffalo Wings & Rings as a place for big fun and big flavor, such as sweet Thai chili sauce and chipotle peppers, for example,” said Jablonsky.

Building on diners’ growing acceptance of foods from around the globe, Buffalo Wings & Rings continues to play with spices, flavors and ingredients from a variety of ethnic cuisines, including Indian. Earlier this year, Buffalo Wings & Rings introduced a first-of-its-kind The Wings of Fury, a limited-time-offer chicken wing tossed in a curry powder dry rub, crisply fried, topped with Sriracha sauce and served with a scallion cream for dipping.

Since its inception, Buffalo Wings & Rings has been built upon the unique proposition that families should be treated to fresh – never frozen – wings with 11 sauces that range from the traditional to the unconventional. But better wings are just the beginning. The chef-driven menu features a wealth of American classics to satisfy even the most discerning taste buds with flavors that push the envelope along with specialty burgers, gyros and salads. Every Buffalo Wings & Rings location also features a full liquor bar and dozens of craft-beer options that celebrate local and national brewing excellence.

The commitment to high quality food has not only benefited consumers taste buds, but also franchise owners in the communities they serve. They Buffalo Wings & Rings system has seen 13 percent average unit growth year-over-year for the past 8 years. Additionally, the brand has seen 17 straight quarters of positive same store sales growth.

For more information about Buffalo Wings & Rings, click here.

Better Wings Are Just The Beginning

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