FSR Magazine: How Buffalo Wings & Rings Responded Quickly to COVID-19

According to a recent article in FSR Magazine, Buffalo Wings & Rings’ CEO Nader Masadeh views the early warning that all Ohio bars and restaurants received about temporary closings due to COVID-19 was “a blessing of sorts.”

This warning allowed the Cincinnati-based 80-unit franchise to prepare for the pandemic. “Immediately within that first 24-48 hours, we started thinking the magnitude of this is huge and it’s not going to be limited to Ohio. It’s not going to be just a week,” Masadeh explains in the article. “So we started reading between the lines to figure out quickly what we were going to do.” 

As the COVID-19 crisis began, Buffalo Wings & Rings’ executive team drafted a global plan for franchisees designed to support them through these unprecedented times, especially during what is traditionally a busy season because of March Madness. Buffalo Wings & Rings also set up a fund for aid store-level employees that have been laid off or furloughed along with offering them free meals, no questions asked. Masadeh added that the brand has also reduced loyalty payments by 2 percent for franchisees while providing every operator with a franchise business consultant to get through the coming 30, 60 and 90 days. 

As Buffalo Wings & Rings continues to prepare for the other side of the pandemic, locations are already seeing positive signs. Masadeh told FSR, “Early April appreciated a significant bump relative to March, as stimulus checks opened spending up and people simply started to get tired of the same routine”. 

Click here to read the full article from FSR Magazine.