With restaurants seemingly on every corner, you might think that the market for a new chicken wing restaurant would not be a good idea. But one of the fastest growing and most popular restaurant concepts in America for 2010-11 is Chicken Wings, also known as Hot Wings or Buffalo wings.
The facts
The entire restaurant industry is poised for continued growth in this decade. According to the Restaurant Industry Association’s 2011 forecast, the industry will exceed $ 577 billion in sales. Today’s consumers spend 44 percent of every dollar on food for meals, snacks, and beverages bought outside the home, compared to just 25 percent in the 1950s. By 2015, the Association estimates that figure will reach as low as 25 percent. 53 percent, as the share of the food dollar spent away from home continues its upward march. Additionally, chicken consumption in the US has risen more than 17% in the last decade with chicken wings leading the way. All of these statistics greatly benefit the start-up of a new chicken wing restaurant.
Starting!
As a restaurant startup, you can choose to start your restaurant from scratch or you can choose the franchise route. The total cost of the investment is often a deciding factor. If you choose to go the franchise route, the main franchisors are companies like Buffalo Wild Wings, Wingstop, and WingZone. These companies offer many advantages. The main benefit of choosing the franchise route is risk minimization. Starting a new business is risky. Most studies show that more than 90 percent fail in three years. The main reason the failure rate is so high is because owners must go through the learning curve to operate their businesses. The franchise substantially reduces that curve.
The downside to choosing the franchise route is the high investment requirements. If you want to open a chicken wing franchise, expect to invest between $ 310,000 and $ 1,500,000. Another downside to buying a franchise is that you are required to send 4-6% of your top-line sales to the franchisor as a franchise fee.
An attractive alternative to franchising is starting your own chicken wing restaurant from scratch. This option gives you full control of the theme and concept. The average cost of starting the restaurant is also drastically reduced. Your own branded chicken wing restaurant will typically cost you between $ 75,000 and $ 150,000 for a Wingstop and Wingzone inspired restaurant. You can expect your cost to be about $ 350,000 to $ 500,000 if you choose a concept like Buffalo Wild Wings. This all depends on your restaurant plans. Will it be full service or just to go? Will you have a bar that sells alcohol? What will the square footage be? The benefits of starting your own chicken wing restaurant are obvious, lower cost, and more control. The downside is that you will have to develop the brand, define your concept, develop a logo, determine your finances, negotiate lease agreements, buy the right equipment, etc.
That said, a chicken wing restaurant is a very easy business to start. There are start-up guides that you can purchase that will guide you through the process. If you have knowledge of the restaurant business, you are one step ahead. But if you don’t, don’t worry, this type of restaurant requires little experience to operate. So if you are looking for an opportunity to start your own business, starting a chicken wing restaurant will position you for future growth.