Dive Brief:

• Buffalo Wild Wings opened the 100th unit of its off-premise-centric model, dubbed Buffalo Wild Wings Go, in New York City this week, the company said in a press release. 
• The company has commitments signed for another 600 BWW Go locations, of which 85% are from existing Inspire Brands franchisees. 
• Buffalo Wild Wings has over 1,300 sports bars that now use the BWW Go branding for their takeout and delivery orders, but it plans to reach 150 standalone BWW Go locations by the end of this year.

Dive Insight:

BWW Go locations will open in key markets including Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, California and Texas, the company said.

Compared to its 3,500 to 6,500-plus square feet sports bar locations, the BWW Go units are 900 to 1,600 square feet and can open in urban areas as well as non-traditional locations like airports, stadiums and college campuses. BWW Go units have a faster speed to market, though this depends on geographies, real estate and other factors. Some units have taken as little as seven weeks to get from the start of construction to opening day, the company said. 

“Recognizing a significant shift in consumer behavior post-COVID, Buffalo Wild Wings strategically tapped into the burgeoning demand for off-premise dining and key insights from other strong brands in the Inspire portfolio,” the company said.

Buffalo Wild Wings opened its first Go location in Atlanta in 2020. These locations offer a walk-up counter, digital menu boards, condensed seating and TVs for guests to watch while they wait for their orders. Mobile and call-ahead orders can be picked up from takeout lockers.

All of its traditional BWW locations will also include a Go section for takeout and delivery, the company said. The chain launched a new visual identity, a Go branded e-commerce platform, Go-only menu items and refreshed marketing materials highlighting off-premise offerings. 

The smaller BWW Go locations are appealing to franchisees like the Munson Restaurant Group, which opened the 100th location. Munson has four other Go locations and runs Buffalo Wild Wings and Sonic Drive-In restaurants in the Northeast. 

Buffalo Wild Wings mandates a five-unit minimum for franchises to develop Go concepts, a $30,000 franchise fee for a 10-year agreement, minimum liquidity of $500,000 and minimum net worth of $1 million, according to its website. Comparatively, traditional Buffalo Wild Wings locations require a minimum net worth of $1.5 million and minimum liquidity of $750,000, but an initial franchise fee of $25,000. 

Off-premise-only locations can help casual chains better compete with limited-service chains, which have made bigger gains on traffic growth compared to full-service chains. According to a Placer.ai report, an Applebee’s to-go-only venue that opened last year saw twice the proportion of visits during the lunch daypart as other nearby full-service Applebee’s restaurants.