Wingstop

Last updated

Wingstop Inc.
Company type Public
Industry Restaurants
GenreFast casual fast food restaurant
Founded1994;30 years ago (1994)
Garland, Texas, U.S.
Founders
  • Antonio Swad
  • Bernadette Fiaschetti
Headquarters Addison, Texas, U.S. [1]
Number of locations
1,413 as of March 28, 2020 [1]
Area served
[2]
Key people
Charles R. Morrison (CEO)
Products Chicken wings, chicken tenders, french fries, soft drinks
RevenueIncrease2.svg US$$282.5 million (FY 2021) [3]
Increase2.svg US$73.7 million (FY 2021) [3]
Increase2.svg US$42.6 million (FY 2021) [3]
Total assets Increase2.svg US$249.2 million (FY 2021) [3]
Total equity Increase2.svg US$249.2 million (FY 2021) [3]
Number of employees
4,000 (2021)
Website wingstop.com

Wingstop Inc. is an American international chain of restaurants that primarily sells chicken wings. Wingstop locations are decorated with a 1930s and 1940s pre-jet aviation theme.

Contents

The restaurant chain was founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, and began offering franchises in 1997. As of 2022, Wingstop had over 1,400 restaurants. The chain is headquartered in Addison, Texas. [4] In 2003, the chain was acquired by Gemini Investors, which sold it to Roark Capital Group in 2010. [5] Wingstop went public in 2015. [6]

History

Wingstop was founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas by Antonio Swad. The first franchised location opened in 1997, and by 2002 the brand claimed to have served two million wings. [7] In 2005, Wingstop began serving lunch and in 2009 it began selling a boneless product. [8] Wingstop opened its first international restaurant in Mexico in 2010. [9]

Between 2014 and 2016, Wingstop was the third-fastest-growing restaurant chain in the US as measured by both system-wide sales and unit growth, according to Nation's Restaurant News. [10] [11] In 2015, Wingstop went public at an initial public offering price of $19 per share. [12] That year, their profits more than doubled. [13]

In 2019, Wingstop began using the tagline Where Flavor Gets Its Wings. [14] The next year, Wingstop became available for delivery in Dallas, Texas through DoorDash [15] As of 2019, the Wingstop Team Member Foundation acted as an employee-funded nonprofit that gave money to other employees experiencing a financial hardship due to an emergency. [16]

On June 21, 2021, WingStop announced a digital-only restaurant called ThighStop, which sells chicken thighs instead of wings. The company cited cost-saving measures as the reason for the change. [17]

Wings and fries from Wingstop Wingstop chicken and chips.jpg
Wings and fries from Wingstop
A Wingstop in Springfield, Virginia Wingstop storefront, Springfield, Virginia.jpg
A Wingstop in Springfield, Virginia

The Wingstop menu includes a range of chicken products. Among others, the "wings with sauces" is served, and sandwiches with chicken meat are offered. [18] Sides and fries are seasoned with spices. Some sauces are only available for limited periods, this helps with the marketing. The most popular Wingstop flavours include "Hot Lemon", "Bayou BBQ", and "Lemon Garlic". [19] [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo wing</span> American dish of spicy chicken wings

A Buffalo wing in American cuisine is an unbreaded chicken wing section that is generally deep-fried, then coated or dipped in a sauce consisting of a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter prior to serving. They are traditionally served hot, along with celery sticks and carrot sticks, and a dip of blue cheese dressing or, primarily outside of New York, ranch dressing. Buffalo wings are named for Buffalo, New York, where they were invented, and have no relation to the animal. They are often called simply chickenwings, hot wings, or just wings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arby's</span> American sandwich chain based in Sandy Springs, Georgia

Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants. The flagship property of Inspire Brands, it ranked third in systemwide sales in the United States in the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries in 2012, behind Subway and Panera Bread. In October 2017, Food & Wine called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church's Texas Chicken</span> American Chicken restaurant chain

Church's Texas Chicken is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The chain was founded as Church's Fried Chicken To-Go by George W. Church Sr. on April 17, 1952, in San Antonio, Texas, across the street from The Alamo. Church's Texas Chicken trades as Texas Chicken or Church's Chicken in many countries. The chain is currently owned by American private equity firm High Bluff Capital Partners. As of 2017, Church's Texas Chicken had more than 1,700 franchised and company-owned locations in 26 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny's BBQ</span>

Sonny's BBQ is a barbecue restaurant chain founded by Floyd "Sonny" Tillman in Gainesville, Florida, in 1968. Bob Yarmuth purchased the company in 1991 and continues as the company's owner and CEO today. As of 2016, Sonny's BBQ has 113 restaurants across eight Southeastern states and is headquartered in Maitland, Florida. The restaurant specializes in Southern-style BBQ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bojangles (restaurant)</span> American regional fast food chain

Bojangles OpCo, LLC., doing business as Bojangles, is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants that specializes in Cajun-seasoned fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits and primarily serves the Southeastern United States. The company was founded in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1977 by Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schlotzsky's</span> American restaurant franchise chain

Schlotzsky's is an American franchise chain of restaurants, specializing in sandwiches and pizza. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Schlotzsky's has more than 330 franchised and company-owned locations throughout the United States. Most locations are in the south and southwestern United States, but the company is expanding into areas across the country, particularly the north and southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spicy chicken sandwich</span> Sandwich made with chicken

A spicy chicken sandwich is a sandwich made of a boneless white breast of chicken whose breading is seasoned with a spicy blend of peppers and spices. Common seasonings include garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, cracked pepper, jalapeno juice, and crushed red pepper flakes, which are stirred into the bread crumbs. The chicken can be brined if desired and then dipped in hot sauce and/or buttermilk and egg, breaded with the flour, cornstarch, bread crumbs, spices, etc.; and then either baked, pressure cooked, or fried in such oils as peanut oil or canola oil. A smoky, chili pepper sauce or sriracha mayo or a spread with such ingredients as mayonnaise, Dijon sauce, lemon juice, celery seeds, pickle juice, hot sauce, and freshly ground black pepper, may be used. Commonly the chicken sandwich is served on a kaiser roll with such toppings as mayo, iceberg lettuce, tomato, shredded cabbage, bread and butter pickle slices, coleslaw, or Monterey Jack cheese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korean barbecue</span> Regional style of food preparation

Korean barbecue is a popular method in Korean cuisine of grilling meat, typically beef, pork or chicken. Such dishes are often prepared on gas or charcoal grills built into the dining table itself. Some Korean restaurants that do not have built-in grills provide customers with portable stoves for diners to use at their tables. Alternatively, a chef uses a centrally displayed grill to prepare dishes that are made to order.

Roark Capital Management, LLC, also known as Roark Capital Group or simply Roark Capital, is an American private equity firm with around $37 billion in assets under management. The firm is focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies, primarily in the franchise/multi-location, restaurant and food, health and wellness, and business services sectors. It is named for Howard Roark, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. The firm says that its name is not meant to connote any particular political philosophy but instead signify the firm's admiration for the iconoclastic qualities of independence and self-assurance embodied by the central figure in The Fountainhead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dickey's Barbecue Pit</span> American barbecue restaurant chain

Dickey's Barbecue Pit is an American family-owned barbecue restaurant chain based in Dallas, Texas, and is a subsidiary of Dickey's Capital Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicken Salad Chick</span> Fast casual food chain

Chicken Salad Chick is a fast casual restaurant chain and franchise of chicken salad restaurants based in Atlanta, Georgia. To date, the chain consists of over 280 franchise restaurants and stores in 19 different U.S. states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mom's Touch</span> Fast food chain

Mom's Touch (Korean: 맘스터치), is a chicken burger chain based in South Korea. As of 2020, the chain had over 1,314 retail stores in South Korea. The company's name comes from the thought that their food is made the same way a mother would make for her family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual restaurant</span> Delivery-only restaurant

A virtual restaurant, also known as a ghost kitchen, cloud kitchen or dark kitchen, is a food service business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick-up based on phone and online ordering. Virtual restaurants are stand-alone businesses that either operate out of an existing restaurant's kitchen or from a separate kitchen set-up away from a restaurant. By not having a full-service restaurant with a storefront and dining room, virtual restaurants can economize by occupying cheaper real estate. The reduced space lowers overall overhead and operational costs, thus yielding higher profit margins, as the price of the food provided is typically not changed. The virtual restaurant's single kitchen format allows for multiple brands to share kitchen space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Pollo Loco (United States)</span> Restaurant chain

El Pollo Loco, Inc., is a restaurant chain based in the United States, specializing in Mexican-style grilled chicken. Restaurant service consists of: dine-in and take-out, with some locations offering drive-through options. The company is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, and operates about 500 company-owned and franchised restaurants in the Southwestern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inspire Brands</span> American restaurant company

Inspire Brands LLC is an American fast-food restaurant franchise company. Owned by Roark Capital Group, it owns the Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John's, Mister Donut, Dunkin' Donuts, and Baskin-Robbins chains, which have a combined 31,700 locations and US$30 billion in system sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartz Chicken</span> Fast food chain

Hartz Chicken is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken. The company supplies more than 60 locations in Texas, mostly around the Houston metropolitan area, and Malaysia, as well as one restaurant in Shreveport, LA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salad and Go</span> Fast Food Salad Company

Salad and Go is a drive-thru restaurant chain that specializes in salads, wraps, and breakfast. The brand is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona with a second office in Addison, Texas, and two food production facilities in Phoenix and Dallas. Salad and Go is a privately held company with more than 100 locations operating across four states including Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma and Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemon pepper wings</span> Chicken wings dish from Miami, Florida, US

Lemon pepper wings are unbreaded chicken wings coated in lemon pepper seasoning. The dish was invented in Miami, Florida, and is considered to be emblematic of the cuisines of both Miami and Atlanta.

References

  1. 1 2 Ruggless, Ron (June 25, 2019). "Wingstop to relocate headquarters". Nations Restaurant News . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  2. "Wingstop pushes international expansion". Nation's Restaurant News. February 12, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "WING Financials". Nasdaq. January 30, 2021.
  4. "Wingstop Inc. Announces New Corporate Headquarters in Addison, TX". Wingstop. June 25, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  5. "Roark Capital Group Acquires Wingstop" (PDF) (Press release). Roark Capital Group.
  6. Nasr, Reem (June 12, 2015). "Wingstop surges in IPO to close 61% higher". CNBC . Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  7. "Wingstop". wingstop.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  8. "Wingstop Rolls Out Boneless Wings". QSR magazine. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  9. "Wingstop to Double Current Presence in Mexico" (Press release) (in French). Wingstop Restaurants Inc GlobeNewswire News Room. September 23, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  10. "2014 Top 100: Why Wingstop is the No. 3 fastest-growing chain". Nation's Restaurant News. July 3, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  11. "2016 Top 100: Why Wingstop is the No. 3 fastest-growing chain". Nation's Restaurant News. June 28, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  12. Carnette, Jamal (December 28, 2020). "Up 600% in 5 Years, Is Wingstop Just Getting Started?". NASDAQ.
  13. "Wingstop's profit more than doubles in 2015". Nation's Restaurant News. March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  14. "Wingstop". wingstop.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  15. "Wingstop Begins Nationwide Rollout of Delivery with DoorDash in Dallas-Fort Worth". QSR magazine. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  16. "Wingstop Foundation Supports Team Members in Need". WINGSIDER. June 7, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  17. Wiener-Bronner, Danielle (June 21, 2021). "There's a chicken wing shortage. So this chain wants you to start loving thighs". CNN. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  18. "Fall in Love with Wingstop's New Chicken Sandwich Offered in 12 Bold Flavors, Now Available Nationwide" (Press release). prnewswire.com. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  19. "Wingstop Celebrates 25th Anniversary with 25 Days of Flavor". ir.wingstop.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  20. Wingstop (February 11, 2021). "Wingstop's "Remix" Flavors Hot Lemon, Lemon Garlic, and Bayou BBQ are BACK!". wingsider.wingstop.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.