The 80-store brand appeals to entrepreneurs thanks to lower startup costs, lower break-evens, room to grow
FORT WAYNE, Ind.— When Jim Weaver founded Wings Etc. Grill & Pub in Mishawaka, Indiana, in 1994, he was an entrepreneur realizing a dream. Weaver set out to create a family-friendly sports bar, offering big-screen TVs, great (but simple) food, friendly service and lots of cold beverages.
“Sports bars were just coming onto the scene. Chicken wings were just hitting the scene. My timing was right, and everything worked out very well,” Weaver says — so much so that he opened a second location in 1998 in South Bend, Indiana.
Weaver didn’t work alone for long. He wanted to open a third store; Rob Hensmann, now CEO at Wings Etc. Inc., and Eric Stuczynski, now chief procurement and development officer and president of The Wings Etc. Foundation, approached him about opening a Wings Etc. restaurant.
“Rob and I had the opportunity to meet with Jim Weaver in the Mishawaka, Indiana, store. And we immediately just fell in love with the menu,” says Stuczynski. “It was fun food, you know. Wings was fun, and it still is fun.”
Soon after, the trio formed a franchise company and began pursuing franchise growth, in addition to opening new corporate locations.
The concept has expanded to include 80 locations (more than half of which are franchised). Technology, online ordering, the popularity of carryout and delivery, and more adventurous and vocal consumers all have changed the restaurant landscape in the past 30 years. But good food and good service remain at the crux of the Wings Etc. model.
“We’ve always had great wings,” Hensmann says. “Back in 1994 and 1998 and 2004, we won best wings in most of the markets that we’re in. We’ve been in the Michiana market for almost 30 years now, and we’ve won best wings every year since. And that continues to be really the secret for success with us.”
“The one thing that hasn’t changed is, people expect good service. So that is all-important,” Weaver says. “They wanted good service in 1994, they want good service in 2024, and I assume 30 years from now they’ll still want good service.”
Also on the horizon in the coming years: a new restaurant concept focusing on to-go orders. “The big thing right now is our smaller footprint, which we hope appeals to not only customers but investors also. Our model now is 30 years old, so it’s taking some tweaking. The housing downturn in 2008 didn’t help us; COVID in 2020 didn’t help us. But we got through them, and we’ve learned a little about life and business through each of those,” Weaver says.
“And so I think the emphasis is not only to continue with our model, but also to be a little bit more flexible and get into a smaller location. Offer cheaper (franchise) entry fees and appeal to Generation Z or whomever it is that may be choosing to eat at home but still want restaurant-style food.”
Of Wings Etc.’s 80 locations, 54 are franchisee-owned. Long-time, multi-unit franchisees speak to the success of the formula: Mark and Crystal Crossland of Springfield, Ill., have been franchisees since 2005, and nine franchisees have more than one location. Backing up their sentiment, Wings Etc. was recognized as a Top Franchise for 2024 by Franchise Business Review in its ranking of the 200 best franchise opportunities as rated by franchise business owners. Wings Etc. also was named one of the top 500 franchises in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500® for its outstanding performance in areas including unit growth, financial strength and stability, and brand power.
“We have a lot of opportunity, really focusing east of the Mississippi, to get into markets where they’re in need of something like this — going into small to midsize cities where they’re in need of entertainment and a sports bar-themed kind of restaurant,” Stuczynski says. “So I think you’re going to see that over the next five to 10 years.”
The company offers single and multi-unit franchise options. The initial franchise fee is $39,500, with a $350,000 liquid cash investment and $700,000 minimum net worth requirement for interested prospects. Wings Etc. offers one of the lowest startup costs and break-even franchise opportunities in the full-service restaurant segment. Priority growth markets include Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
“We want to position ourselves for the future,” Weaver says. “And I’m not kidding when I say I believe our intentions are to be around and to pass on to a younger generation, a legacy that they can build on, that we can leave to our families, that we are still a relevant restaurant operation, and that we will still be around and hopefully have many more locations than 80 units by then.”
Wings Etc. Timeline
- 1994: Jim Weaver opened the first Wings Etc. store in Mishawaka, Indiana.
- 1998: Weaver opened a second store in South Bend, Indiana.
- 2004: Rob Hensmann, now CEO, and Eric Stuczynski, now chief procurement and development officer and president of the Wings Etc. Foundation, opened a restaurant in Elkhart — the first standalone — and help draft a Franchise Disclosure Document with Weaver for Wings Etc. Inc.
- 2005: Wings Etc. Inc. signed its first franchisee, Jeremy Bayles, in May 2005 in Niles, Michigan; he opened a store in 2007.
- 2006: Mark and Crystal Crossland opened the first franchisee store in Springfield, Illinois.
- 2008: Hensmann, Stuczynski and Weaver opened store 11 in Goshen and merged their locations into Wings Etc. Operating Company (WEOC). WEOC currently operates 26 Wings Etc. locations.
- 2009: Introduced Angry Chicken and Big Chicken as spokes puppets.
- 2014: Wings Etc. expanded its beverage program to include spirits offering full bar service to its guests.
- 2016: Online ordering began.
- 2023: The Wings Etc. Foundation was formed to codify Wings Etc.’s expansive program of giving back, even as individual stores maintained their own sponsorships and fundraisers as well.
- 2024: The Wings Rewards loyalty program app launched, and Wings Etc. debuted a new logo.
Join the Party
Wings Etc. will host a birthday bash at participating locations on August 28, 2024, with discounts on wings and schooners. They will offer birthday cake on a first come-first served basis.
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About Wings Etc. Grill & Pub
Wings Etc. is proud to celebrate 30 years of growth and good times this year. Founded in 1994 by Jim Weaver in northern Indiana, Wings Etc. is a family-friendly grill and pub featuring award-winning jumbo Buffalo wings, 21 signature sauces and rubs, dozens of TVs tuned to sports programming and a casual, non-corporate-y, laid-back vibe that makes people want to just come in and hang out. See wingsetc.com.
With 80 corporate and franchise locations, Wings Etc. has been listed among Entrepreneur magazine’s “Top 500 Franchises” every year since 2021 and was included in the magazine’s “Top Five Best Sports Bars” in 2021. It has been named one of Franchise Business Review’s “Top Food Franchises” every year since 2020 and a “Top 200 Franchise” every year since 2019. Wings Etc. has been included in Franchise Gator’s “Top 100 Franchises” seven times since 2014 and its “Fastest Growing Franchises” seven times since 2016; it was among the “Top Emerging Franchises” in 2023. It has been named a “Top 400 Franchise” by Franchise Times every year since 2021 and a “Top 500 Franchise” by Nation’s Restaurant News every year since 2021. See www.wingsetcfranchise.com.
The Wings Etc. Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to improving children’s lives. See www.wingsetcfoundation.com.
©2024 Wings Etc., Inc. Franchises independently owned and operated.
Photos courtesy of Wings Etc. Grill and Pub
Photo 1: The first Wings Etc. location in Mishawaka, Indiana, which opened in 1994.
Photo 2: The newest Fort Wayne, Indiana, Wings Etc. location, which opened in November 2023 on Illinois Road.
Photo 3: Wings Etc. leadership in 2004 from left to right: Rob Hensmann, now CEO; Dave Poncé, now chief marketing officer; Eric Stuczynski, now chief procurement and development officer and president of The Wings Etc. Foundation; and Jim Weaver, founder.