More chicken wing competition is coming to the Atlanta area.
Wing It On! a New England-based wing joint, is expanding with at least five locations in the pipeline.
The announcement of new stores follows the opening Wing It On! Sandy Springs, which began welcoming customers in November 2020. Thanks to the largest multi-unit development agreement Wing It On! has signed so far, the restaurant will inch closer toward having 25 to 30 more stores by the end of the year in target markets — Atlanta included.
Specific site selection for the metro Atlanta Wing It On! eateries is currently underway, a representative told the AJC. The team is seeking sites in Southwest Atlanta, Midtown, Georgia Tech, along the North Ave Smart Corridor, the West End and Decatur to name a few.
“Our team was very intrigued by the Wing It On! Franchise opportunity. What stood out to us was how quickly a location can get up and running, as well as the sales to capital ratio,” Dwayne Heard, one of the signees of the new agreement, said in a press release. “We are confident Wing It On! will be a major player in the industry segment, and certainly the Atlanta DMA, which has extraordinary growth potential, and as such we are excited for what the future holds.”
Heard and his fellow franchisees Clinton Barrow and Nyerere Ellis are in familiar territory with Wing It On!
Heard and Ellis have developed and operated more than 28 Checkers restaurants in Atlanta and other cities around the country. Meanwhile, Barrow has a background in franchise finance and presently works as a consultant for franchisees seeking financing. He’ll be the CFO for the franchisee group operating Wing It On! in Atlanta.
And that’s just a sample of the trio’s restaurant experience.
“Dwayne, Clinton and Nyerere are the exact type of operators we want to partner with as we grow Wing It On!,” the restaurant’s CEO and founder Matt Ensero said in a statement. “Their extensive experience in the industry will be key as we enter the Atlanta market.”
Wing It On! began in the early 2000s. At the time, Ensero argued with his friends about who had to drive 30-plus minutes to pick up wings on football Sunday. By the time the food arrived for kickoff, however, they were cold and soggy. The first Wing It On! opened in Enseros’ hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut and the joint has been dedicated to serving fresh, never-frozen all-natural wings ever since.
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