Buffalo Wild Wings leans into Go takeout format as a third of sales move off premises

Buffalo
Wild
Wings
opened
its
100^th
Go
location
on
Wednesday
in
New
York
City,
four
years
after
unveiling
the
quick-service
offshoot
of
its
sports
bar
chain.

BWW
Go
sells
the
chain’s
famous
chicken
wings
and
other
classic
menu
items,
but
its
locations
are
smaller
and
limited
to
delivery
and
takeout
orders.
For
the
sports
bar
chain,
it’s
a
way
to
make
its
brand
even
more
ubiquitous,
while
offering
customers
more
convenience.

Since
2018,
Buffalo
Wild
Wings
has
been
a
part
of
Inspire
Brands,
which
is
backed
by
private
equity
firm
Roark
Capital.
Initially
formed
after
a
merger
between
BWW
and
Arby’s,
Inspire
has
since
added
other
chains
including
Sonic
Drive-In,
Jimmy
John’s,
Dunkin’
and
Baskin-Robbins.

Inspire
is

reportedly
considering
going
public
in
late
2024
or
2025
and
seeking
a
valuation
of
$20
billion.

BWW
is
the
second-largest
U.S.
casual-dining
chain
in
the
bar
and
grill
category
with
a
market
share
of
14.4%,
trailing
only


Dine
Brands’
Applebee’s,
according
to
Barclays
research.
It’s
carved
out
a
chicken
wing
dominance
among
its
closest
competitors,
serving
more
than
3
million
gallons
of
ranch
and
blue
cheese
dressing
in
2023.

But
the
casual-dining
segment
has
struggled,
with
publicly
traded
rivals
like


Chili’s
and


Red
Robin
perpetually
stuck
in
turnaround
mode.

Buffalo
Wild
Wings’
revenue
fell
1%
in
2023
to
$2.32
billion,
according
to
franchise
disclosure
documents.
A
fast-growing
spinoff
like
Go
could
make
Inspire
more
enticing
to
potential
public
market
investors.

Opening
a
traditional
Buffalo
Wild
Wings
location
requires
anywhere
from
$2.44
million
to
$4.83
million
in
initial
investment,
depending
on
the
restaurant’s
location
and
other
factors,
according
to
franchise
disclosure
documents.
In
comparison,
a
Go
location
will
set
a
franchisee
back
roughly
$560,000
to
$1.05
million.

While
a
BWW
sports
bar
is
around
6,000
square
feet
on
average,
a
Go
location
is
roughly
1,500
square
feet.
That
means
cheaper
real
estate
that’s
faster
to
build
and
easier
to
operate.

“With
the
ability
to
fit
into
smaller
footprints,
it
has
the
recognition
of
an
established
brand
with
the
unlimited
potential
of
an
emerging
one,”
said
Jack
Litman,
president
of
the
Munson
Group
and
franchisee
of
the
100^th
Go
location.

The
Go
format
is
primarily
meant
to
reach
the
customers
who
sometimes
don’t
want
to
ditch
their
couches
for
a
sports
bar.

Before
the
pandemic,
off-premise
orders
accounted
for
15%
of
Buffalo
Wild
Wings
sales,
according
to
John
Bowie,
brand
president
at
BWW.
Now,
takeout
and
delivery
make
up
roughly
a
third
of
the
BWW’s
sales.

“This
was
an
opportunity
for
us
to
take
the
takeout
portion
of
the
business,
put
it
inside
a
freestanding
unit
and
put
it
very
conveniently
located
to
where
our
customer
is,”
Bowie
told
CNBC.

As
of
Wednesday,
BWW
has
branded
its
entire
off-premise
business
under
the
Go
name,
too.

BWW’s
off-premise
growth
mirrors
that
of
the
broader
chicken
wing
category,
which
soared
in
popularity
during
the
pandemic.
Like
pizza,
chicken
wings
travel
well
when
delivered,
but
they
also
offer
more
variety,
with
an
array
of
sauces
and
rubs
to
switch
up
the
flavor.

While
pizza
chains
like


Domino’s
and
Pizza
Hut
have
seen
their
sales
struggle
since
the
pandemic
as
pizza
fatigue
sets
in,
chicken
wings
haven’t
slowed
down
in
the
same
way.

For
example,
fast-casual
chain
and
stock
market
darling


Wingstop
has
reported
strong
same-store
sales
growth
for
the
last
year
and
half,
bucking
industry
trends.
Bernstein
analyst
Danilo
Gargiulo
wrote
in
a
February
research
note
that
Wingstop
has
the
potential
to
be “the
next
Domino’s.”
(Roark
Capital
previously
owned
Wingstop
but
exited
its
investment
a
year
and
a
half
after
the
chain’s
IPO.)

Other
chains
are
now
also
looking
to
chicken
wings
to
bolster
their
sales.


Restaurant
Brands
International’s
Popeyes
added
chicken
wings
to
its
menu
permanently
last
year.

BWW
Go
also
gives
the
chain
the
opportunity
to
compete
better
with
its
fast-food
rivals.
The
chain
can
tweak
its
limited
menu
to
appeal
to
the
customers
looking
for
a
convenient
dinner.

BWW
Chief
Marketing
Officer
Tristan
Meline
told
CNBC
in
the
future
the
chain
may
lean
into
offering
more
special
sauces,
menu
items
or
deals
to
Go
customers.

BWW
plans
to
keep
adding
to
its
current
footprint
of
more
than
1,300
sports
bars,
but
Go
will
be
opening
locations
at
a
much
faster
rate,
according
to
Bowie.

“It
takes
a
long
time
to
get
a
sports
bar
approval
and
to
build
a
sports
bar,
but
we’ve
already
seen
with
the
60
franchisees
we
have
now
that
they
can
start
stamping
these
out,
and
the
growth
will
be
very
exciting,”
he
said.

BWW
already
has
nearly
600
commitments
from
franchisees
to
open
additional
Go
locations.
About
85%
of
its
operators
also
franchise
with
other
chains
owned
by
Inspire,
like
Dunkin’
or
Arby’s.

But
the
calls
to
franchise
are
also
coming
from
outside
of
Inspire;
Bowie
said
that
he’s
been
hearing
from
large
franchisees
that
already
operate
multiple
concepts.

The
chain
plans
to
open
another
50
Go
locations
by
the
end
of
the
year.