East Coast Wings + Grill, a casual dining franchise known for its variety of award-winning buffalo wing flavors, made-to-order with the freshest ingredients, unveiled a brand overhaul Wednesday. Dubbed “East Coast Wings + Grill 2.0,” the refresh is designed to elevate the brand to an enhanced dining experience featuring a new logo, revamped interior, new menu items, and a focus on craft beer.
The brand conducted extensive research and interviewed focus groups to narrow down three immediate priorities for the birth of East Coast Wings + Grill 2.0:
- Redesign units’ interiors and exteriors for cost effective development and to cater to consumer desires. The result is a rustic and industrial-styled space with a smaller footprint that reduced development cost by 20+/- percent.
- Invest in the right suppliers and vendors to assure all units have every tool necessary to continue maintaining positive same store sales growth. Examples include partnering with FreedomPay to provide a pay-at-the-table option for more secure transactions and decreased liability for franchise partners, and the addition of Buxton, a consumer and site predictive analytics tool providing measurable analytics for the marketing department.
- Adjust menu offerings to not only appease market trends, but to add cost value engineering into offerings for sustaining quality and increasing gross menu item profits. This enhancement began with the 2016 fall menu and will conclude with the 2018 spring menu. Further, the brand now offers more than 65 craft-style beer options from local, regional, and national breweries.
“Since the beginning, our team has worked to assure our franchise model has the necessary foundation on driving unit-level performance,” says Sam Ballas. CEO of East Coast Wings + Grill. “We’ve strategically planned initiatives to not only elevate the consumer dining experience, but enhance our offerings for franchise partners and the brand’s ability to perform. Since the implementation of East Coast Wings + Grill 2.0, I am beyond ecstatic with the results.”
With 35 units operating nationwide, this refresh is intended to drive the brand beyond 100 units. The new in-store experience has already been executed in the Burlington and Harrisburg, North Carolina locations. Changes will be implemented in all locations moving forward and all existing locations will adopt the new look.
With more than 60 locations operating or in development, East Coast Wings plans to open two additional locations this year and more than 10 units in 2018. East Coast Wings offers an investment opportunity centered on unit-level economics to support both operations and expansion. The franchise looks to partner with franchisees to expand its national footprint across Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and beyond.
