Wingstop Inc. is an American multinational chain of aviation-themed restaurants specializing in chicken wings. Wingstop locations follow a 1930s and 1940s pre-jet aviation theme. The restaurant chain was founded in 1994 in

Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...

, and began offering

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in 1997. As of 2022, Wingstop now has over 1,400 restaurants. The chain is headquartered in

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, in the United States. Addison is situated to the immediate north of the city of Dallas, with a 2020 census population of 16,661. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipali ...

. In 2003, the chain was acquired by Gemini Investors, which sold it to Roark Capital Group in 2010. Wingstop went public in 2015.

History

Wingstop was founded in 1994 in

by Antonio Swad. The first franchised location opened in 1997, and by 2002 the brand claimed to have served two million wings. In 2005, Wingstop opened its doors for lunch and in 2009 rolled out its boneless product. Wingstop went global in 2010 with its first international restaurant opening in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It currently operates in nine countries. Wingstop was the third-fastest-growing restaurant chain in the US from 2014 and 2016 as measured by both systemwide sales and unit growth, according to Nation's Restaurant News. In 2015, Wingstop went public at an initial public offering price of $19 per share. That year, the franchise's profits more than doubled. In 2019, Wingstop unveiled the tagline ''Where Flavor Gets Its Wings''. The next year, Wingstop launched national delivery with

DoorDash DoorDash, Inc. is an American company that operates an online food ordering and food delivery platform. The company is based in San Francisco, California. It went public in December 2020 on NYSE and trades under the symbol DASH. With a 56% m ...

and celebrated 25 years in business.

The menu consists of chicken wings, boneless wings, chicken sandwiches, and chicken tenders with various dips and sides. The flavors available in the US include plain, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, Lemon Pepper, Mild, Original Hot, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Atomic, Mango Habanero, Cajun, Louisiana Rub, and Spicy Korean Q. In August 2022, the restaurant chain introduced chicken sandwiches which come in the same flavors that the wings are available in. Previous U.S. market limited time offer flavors include Brazilian Citrus Pepper, Harissa Lemon Pepper, Ancho Honey Glaze, and "flavor mashups" consisting of a mix of two existing flavors during the brand's 25 Days of Flavor campaign in 2019, including Hot Lemon, Dragon's Breath, and more. In 2021, Wingstop brought back Hot Lemon, Lemon Garlic, and Bayou BBQ for a limited time.

Wingstop Charities

Wingstop Charities are focused toward youth and their passions, ranging from education, arts, sports, career development and more. The Wingstop Team Member Foundation is funded by employees and provides direct support to team members experiencing a financial hardship due to an emergency.

Locations

Wingstop opened its first international location in Mexico in 2011, where it now counts 21 locations. As of 2022, Wingstop has locations in the

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United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

and

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ThighStop

On June 21, 2021, WingStop announced a digital-only restaurant called ThighStop, which includes the same menu items as WingStop, but sells thighs instead of wings. The company cited cost-saving measures as the reason for the change.

References

External links

* {{Establishments serving chicken Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1994 Restaurants in Texas Theme restaurants Companies based in Richardson, Texas 1994 establishments in Texas Fast-food chains of the United States Poultry restaurants Companies listed on the Nasdaq 2015 initial public offerings 2003 mergers and acquisitions 2010 mergers and acquisitions Chicken chains of the United States