Dive Brief:
- Little General Stores, which operates more than 100 c-stores across West Virginia, Virginia and Ohio, opened its first Buffalo Wild Wings “Go” QSR late last month at its location in White Hall, West Virginia, a company spokesperson confirmed to C-Store Dive.
- Buffalo Wild Wings’ “Go” restaurants are smaller and more focused on takeout and delivery than the chain’s traditional sports bars. The partnership with Little General also brought Buffalo Wild Wings “Go” to West Virginia for the first time, the spokesperson said.
- Little General plans to bring at least five more Buffalo Wild Wings “Go” locations to West Virginia, with the next one set to open in MacArthur within the next 30 days, Little General Stores President Greg Darby said in a statement to C-Store Dive.
Dive Insight:
Quick-service restaurants have been a cornerstone of Little General’s business for decades. The Beckley, West Virginia-based retailer is the franchisee and operator for branded food concepts such as Subway, Arby’s, Godfather’s Pizza, Taco Bell, Burger King, Dunkin’ and Teriyaki Madness.
That list now includes Buffalo Wild Wings’ small-format restaurant, which the chicken wing chain debuted in Atlanta back in 2020.Buffalo Wild Wings “Go” has already surpassed 100 locations. Compared to Buffalo Wild Wings’ traditional 3,500- to 6,500-plus-square-foot units, the “Go” QSRs are about 900 to 1,600 square feet.
Little General held a grand opening for its first Buffalo Wild Wings “Go” on Feb. 28. This location also marked Little General’s first convenience store in the Fairmont area, Darby said in a statement.
“A lot of people want to take wings to go with them, and we have a pickup window at this location, so that’s even better,” Darby said. “People won’t even have to get out of their car.”