US buffalo-style chicken wing restaurant chain Wingstop is opening its first Australian location in Sydney later this week.
The restaurant is set to launch on May 17 at the corner of Sydney’s Darlinghurst Road and Victoria Street.
Steve Kehl will be leading the Australian team as country manager. He previously spent three years at Craveable Brands’ Oporto and Red Rooster and 13 years at KFC.
Locky Paech and Jono Spragg, who have spent most of their careers in hospitality venues, will be corporate operations directors.
“I think everyone looks to Australia … [as] a good test of any international brand,” Paech told the Sydney Morning Herald. “If [Wingstop] makes it here, then it’s going to be able to make it anywhere in the world.”
He added that the team plans to open in every Australian capital city and to have a network of more than 100 locations by 2035.
Founded in Texas in 1994, Wingstop operates and franchises a global network of restaurants that are best known for the classic and boneless chicken wings with 12 distinctive flavours.
The chain has more than 2500 locations in 11 markets and boasts an annual system-wide sales growth of 27 per cent, according to its website. It opened nearly 350 new restaurants last year, representing a 16 per cent unit development growth.
Australia has been in Wingstop’s sights since at least 2017, when plans to launch with a different master franchisor fell through.
This article was first published on sibling website Inside Retail.
