Buffalo Wild Wings

History

Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck (BW3) was founded in 1982 by James Disbrow and Scott Lowery, whose parents were Disbrow's ice skating coaches and guardians when he was younger. Meeting up in Kent, Ohio, after Disbrow had finished judging an amateur figure skating competition at Kent State University, the pair were unable to locate a restaurant that served Buffalo-style chicken wings. They decided to open their own restaurant, selecting a location near Ohio State University in Columbus. The "Weck" in the original title refers to beef on weck, a sandwich originally served at the restaurant.

Within six months of opening, the pair brought on an additional partner, Mark Lutz. Over the next decade, they added six additional locations in Ohio, Indiana, and Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The company began to franchise in 1992 by working with Francorp, a Chicago-based law firm. The original franchise fee was $15,000 to $20,000 plus a percentage of sales. Its bottled wing sauces were then manufactured by Wilsey, Inc. of Atlanta. The company's headquarters was set up in 1992 in Cincinnati. By 1993, eight more locations were added, primarily in Ohio.

In late 1994, Disbrow hired a part-time chief financial officer, Sally Smith, who was employed at his new father-in-law's business. In order to get her full-time, the company moved its headquarters to the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area, where Smith wished to stay. Smith had to deal with issues with lenders and the Internal Revenue Service and a potential bankruptcy as a part of overhauling the firm's finances. Smith was unable to determine the firm's net income/loss prior to 1995, due to the trio's haphazard business practices. During 1995, the company did $12 million in revenue with a loss of $1.6 million.

Expecting more growth in 1995, BW3 designed a new prototype free-standing outlet with clear separation between the bar and dining areas and seating 190 in a 5,000- to 7,500-square-foot space. This was a shift in strategy from a college sports-bar to casual dining. The company looked closer at new franchisees' qualifications. Existing franchisees were encouraged to add more locations while more corporate locations were planned. At that time, there were 48 locations with 12 corporate owned.

Smith was promoted to president and CEO in August 1996, while Disbrow became chairman of the board. At the end of the year, 35 new locations were opened. An initial public stock offering was considered in 1998, but discarded given unfavorable market conditions. After using the name variations BW3 and Buffalo Wild Wings in different markets in its first national ad campaign, the decision was made that year to standardize the name throughout the system with the latter. The company moved to increase home sales of their sauces by upgrading the packaging.