ATLANTA, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Wing Zone has been named #10 on Fast Casual's 2019 Top 100 Movers & Shakers ranking of the top fast casual restaurant concepts in America. The list was unveiled during an event Sunday night, May 19, at the Sofitel hotel in Chicago. For 15 years, Fast Casual has recognized the industry's most innovative brands with their annual ranking. This year, Wing Zone landed at 10 out of 75 restaurant brands represented on the list, up from a ranking of 54 in 2018.
"We are very proud to land at #10 on the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers, an honor which can be directly attributed to the hard work of our passionate franchisees and our dedicated Wing Zone corporate team" said Matt Friedman, co-founder and CEO of Wing Zone, who accepted the award at the gala event. "We are coming off a big year for the brand with a double digit comp sales increase for the 2nd half of 2018 and the first 4 months of 2019. Our focus and energy into menu innovation, food cost reduction, and text/email marketing has reinvigorated the entire brand. We are not planning to slow down any time soon."
For consideration to be included in the annual ranking, hundreds of brands nominated themselves by taking part in a survey about their business practices and also nominated executives whom they believed best represented the industry. A panel of judges weighed each nomination carefully before deciding on the final 100, composed of 75 brands and 25 executives.
"It's my favorite night of the year – all of these amazing people coming together to celebrate one another's accomplishments," said Cherryh Cansler, VP of Editorial of Networld Media Group, parent company of FastCasual. "Having so many leaders in one room is an honor."
According to Cansler, while each winner offered customers a little something extra to differentiate it from its competitors, the top performers such as Wing Zone also shared important similarities – a heavy emphasis on team member training, menu innovation, technology upgrades, brand culture and a passion for giving back to their communities.
Wing Zone will open 8 new domestic locations in 2019 in target markets in North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama while also expanding overseas by adding 11 new international locations in Panama and the Philippines.
To find the closest Wing Zone, visit https://www.wingzone.com/locations/. More information can be found by visiting Wing Zone on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
ABOUT WING ZONE
Wing Zone was founded in 1993 at the University of Florida by Matt Friedman and Adam Scott, who dubbed themselves Flavorholics because of their love of great wings and amazing flavors. The Wing Zone franchise was born in their fraternity house kitchen, and the concept quickly flourished through delivery to their fellow college students. After opening several more Wing Zone locations, Scott and Friedman began awarding franchises in 2000. Wing Zone now has nearly 100 locations open across the U.S. and Panama, Guatemala, Singapore, Malaysia and The Philippines. For more information about Wing Zone visit http://www.wingzonefranchise.com
SOURCE Wing Zone
Share this article