Sauces, Chicken, Beer, Sports, and… Daddies?...
When the founders, Disbrow and Scott Lowery, relocated to Kent, Ohio from New York in 1981, they faced a powerful craving - one which I felt in Australia a couple years back. My choice was easier than theirs however; I couldn’t drive to New York if I wanted to! Luckily, they came to the same decision I did… Make your own. Hence, the birth of Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck which later changed it’s name to Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar.
If your interested… The “Weck” part of the original name comes from a roll that makes the roast beef kummelweck (alternatively spelled kimmelweck) sandwich unique. Made only in the Buffalo-Rochester area, sandwich is basically a Kaiser roll topped with lots of pretzel salt and caraway seeds. Kummelweck is simply shortened to “weck.” The sandwich is usually served with sinus-clearing horseradish (you can tell a native Buffalonian by the amount of horseradish he or she used), a couple of huge kosher dill pickle slices on the side, and extra beef juice served straight from the roast. Wash it all down with a cold, locally brewed ale.
Anyway, the now Minneapolis-based restaurant chain, which started with the first restaurant near the Ohio State University campus, today has over 415 company-owned and franchised Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar restaurants in 37 states, with their sights currently set to 1,000. One of the major reasons for BWLD’s success is their President and CEO, Sally Smith, who really turned things around in 1996. Here is a nice interview with her.
If you haven’t figured it out already, Buffalo Wild Wings sells chicken - but not just Buffalo wings. If your not familiar with what makes a wing a buffalo wing, I’ll give you a quick intro. It is the sauce! Buffalo sauce is commonly made up of Franks Red-Hot Sauce (or a substitute) a lot of butter and to control the level of heat (of if your like me and just love the stuff), vinegar is added. The chicken is fried (can be baked) first then rolled in warm sauce to serve. Along with this favorite, Buffalo Wild Wings offers a choice 13 additional sauces and variations, Beer, burgers, the Buzztime® Trivia system and many big-screen TVs.
Add great food to an emphasis on great service (including the option of ordering to-go, or you can sit down and have the food brought to you), and a family atmosphere, and you have the B-dubs phenomenon, where it isn’t unusual of to see a bunch of daddies hanging out with their kids while watching a game and munching some wings, or packed on big game nights - or any night for that matter.
But What Does the Company Say?...
If your interested in really getting under the hood, here is how Buffalo Wild Wings introduces itself, it’s restaurants, business and growth principals, operations, management and more.
(This text is taken directly from the 2006 Form 10-K.)
“..We are an established and growing owner, operator and franchisor of restaurants featuring a variety of boldly-flavored, made-to-order menu items including our Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings spun in any of our signature sauces. Our restaurants create an inviting neighborhood atmosphere that includes an extensive multi-media system, a full bar and an open layout, which appeals to sports fans and families alike. Our concept offers elements of the quick casual and casual dining restaurant concepts featuring a flexible service model that allows our guests to choose among convenient dining options such as quick casual counter service, casual dining table service or take-out. Our award-winning food and inviting atmosphere, combined with our guests' ability to customize their dining experience, drives guest visits and loyalty.
The widespread appeal of our concept establishes our restaurants as a neighborhood destination with 429 restaurants in 37 states as of December 31, 2006. Our menu, competitively priced between the quick casual and casual dining segments, features fresh chicken wings and other items including boneless wings, chicken tenders, popcorn shrimp, specialty hamburgers and sandwiches, wraps, Buffalito(R) soft tacos, appetizers and salads. Our made-to-order menu items are enhanced by the bold flavor profile of our signature sauces, ranging from mild Teriyaki(TM) to Blazin'(R). Our restaurants serve approximately 20 domestic and imported beers on tap, including several local or regional micro-brews and a wide selection of bottled beers, wines, and liquor. The inviting and energetic environment of our restaurants is complemented by furnishings that can be easily rearranged to accommodate parties of various sizes. Our guests have the option of watching sporting events or other popular programs on our projection screens and approximately 40 additional televisions, playing Buzztime(R) Trivia or video games. The open layout of our restaurants offers dining and bar areas that provide distinct seating choices for sports fans and families. Our unique service model, which provides the flexibility of ordering at the counter or table, allows our guests to customize their Buffalo Wild Wings(R) experience to meet the different time demands or service preferences of a workday lunch, a dine-in dinner, a take-out meal, an afternoon or evening enjoying a sporting event or a late-night craving.
We have established our brand through coordinated marketing and operational execution that ensures brand recognition and the quality and consistency of our concept. These efforts include marketing programs and irreverent, award-winning advertising to support both our company-owned and franchised restaurants. We also prominently feature our trademark Buffalo insignia and yellow and black colors in our restaurants and brand our company materials. Our concept is further strengthened by our emphasis on operational excellence supported by stringent operating guidelines and comprehensive employee training in both company-owned and franchised restaurants.
Buffalo Wild Wings was founded in 1982 by Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery at a location near The Ohio State University. Our original name was Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck(R) and we became more popularly known as bw-3(R). In 1991, we began our franchising program. In November 2003, we completed an initial public offering and became a publicly-held company.
Our Concept and Business Strategy
Our goal is to continue to grow and develop the Buffalo Wild Wings(R) Grill & Bar concept into a leading national restaurant chain. To do so, we plan to execute the following strategies:
- Open restaurants in new and existing markets;
- Offer boldly-flavored menu items with broad appeal;
- Create an inviting, neighborhood atmosphere;
- Enable our guests to customize their dining experience;
- Continue to strengthen the Buffalo Wild Wings brand;
- Focus on operational excellence; and
- Increase same-store sales and average unit volumes.
Growth Strategy
Our growth strategy involves opening company-owned and franchised restaurants in both new and existing markets. We believe that we have established the necessary infrastructure and control systems to support our disciplined growth strategy and that our concept can support over 1,000 restaurants in the United States. We have developed procedures for identifying new market opportunities, determining our company and franchising strategy in those markets and identifying sites for company-owned and franchised restaurants. Our growth strategy for the near-term projects a mix of approximately one-third company-owned restaurants and approximately two-thirds franchised restaurants.
We intend to build additional company-owned restaurants in both new and existing markets. In most of our existing markets, we plan to continue to develop new company-owned restaurants until a market is penetrated to a point that will enable us to gain marketing and cost efficiencies. We intend to enter new markets by opening several restaurants within a one-year period to quickly build our brand awareness. We intend to grow our franchise system through the development of new restaurants by existing and new franchisees, focusing on multiple-unit area development agreements.
The Buffalo Wild Wings Menu
Our restaurants feature a variety of menu items including our Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings spun in one of our signature sauces (from sweet to screamin' hot: Teriyaki(TM), Sweet BBQ(TM), Mild(TM), Medium(TM), Spicy Garlic(TM), Caribbean Jerk(TM), Hot BBQ(TM), Hot(TM), Wild(R) and Blazin'(R) , and our newest sauces: Parmesan Garlic(TM), Honey BBQ(TM), Asian Zing(TM), and Mango Habanero(TM)). Our fresh chicken wings can be ordered in sizes ranging from six to 100 wings, with larger orders available for parties. Our sauces complement and distinguish our chicken wings to create a bold flavor profile for our guests. In addition to chicken wings, our menu features a wide variety of food items including boneless wings, chicken tenders, popcorn shrimp, specialty hamburgers and sandwiches, wraps, Buffalito soft tacos, finger foods and salads. We also provide a 12 & Under Menu for kids.
Our restaurants feature a full bar which offers an extensive selection of approximately 20 domestic and imported beers on tap as well as bottled beers, wine and liquor. Additionally, in order to continually improve our menu, we have a research and development department that tests and implements new menu items. Our goal is to balance the established menu offerings that appeal to our loyal guests with new menu items that increase guest frequency and attract new guests.
Restaurant Atmosphere and Layout
Our restaurants are designed to provide an inviting neighborhood atmosphere and allow our guests the flexibility to customize their dining experience. The inviting and energetic environment of our restaurants is created using furnishings that can be easily rearranged to accommodate parties of various sizes. Our restaurants also feature distinct dining and bar areas with select restaurants having patio seating.
We strategically place approximately 40 televisions and up to seven projection screen televisions throughout the restaurant to allow for easy viewing. These televisions, combined with our sound system, Buzztime(R) Trivia and assorted video games, provide a source of entertainment for our guests and reinforce the energetic nature of our concept. We tailor the content and volume of our video and audio programming to reflect our guests' tastes. We believe the design of our restaurants enhances our guests' experiences, drives repeat visits and solidifies the broad appeal of our concept.
All of our menu items are made-to-order and are available for take-out, which approximated 16% of restaurant sales for company-owned restaurants in 2006. Many of our restaurants have separate parking spots for our take-out guests.
Current Restaurant Locations
As of December 31, 2006, we owned or franchised 429 Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants in 37 states, of which 139 were company-owned and 290 were franchised. In 2007, we plan to achieve over 15% unit growth and open over 20 new company-owned restaurants.
Our company-owned restaurants range in size from 4,000 to 7,600 square feet, with an average of approximately 5,600 square feet for restaurants that have opened in the last three years. We anticipate that future restaurants will range in size from 4,500 square feet to 6,400 square feet with an average cash investment per restaurant of approximately $1.2 million, excluding pre-opening expenses of approximately $180,000. From time to time, we expect that our restaurants may be smaller or larger or cost more or less than our targeted range, depending on the particular circumstances of the selected site or market. Also, from time to time, we expect to purchase the building or the land and building for certain restaurants, in which case the cash investment would be significantly higher.
Our restaurants are typically open on a daily basis from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Closing times vary depending on the day of the week and city and state regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages. Our franchise agreements require franchisees to operate their restaurants for a minimum of 12 hours a day.
Site Selection and Development
Our site selection process is integral to the successful execution of our growth strategy. We have processes for identifying, analyzing and approving new markets, as defined by the A.C. Nielson designated market areas in the United States. In selecting designated market areas, we collect and review restaurant industry data relating to restaurant sales, spending on food away from home and expected restaurant growth in the market, as well as market demographics, population data and relative media costs for radio and television advertising. Once a market is identified, we use a trade area and site selection evaluation system, which has been customized for the requirements of the Buffalo Wild Wings system, to assist in identifying suitable trade areas within that market and suitable sites within identified trade areas. Criteria examined to determine appropriate trade areas include the presence of a casual dining corridor, projected growth within the trade area, the locations of key big box retailers and multi-screen movie theaters in the neighborhood, key demographics and population density, drive time and trade area analysis and other quantitative and qualitative measures. Once a suitable trade area is identified, we examine site-specific details including visibility, signage, access and parking. Final approval by two or more members of our executive management team is required for each company-owned site. At least one senior franchise executive reviews each franchise site.
Marketing and Advertising
We have created a unique marketing program designed to communicate a distinctive and consistent brand that differentiates Buffalo Wild Wings from our competitors and that showcases our food in a fun and energetic atmosphere. These efforts include marketing campaigns and irreverent, award-winning advertising to support both our company-owned and franchised restaurants. The primary goal of these efforts is to build brand awareness throughout the United States. In addition, advertising campaigns are also designed to: i) drive positive same-store sales through additional visits by our existing guests and visits by new guests, ii) increase margins, iii) increase average order size, and iv) support strong restaurant openings.
Marketing Campaigns. Our primary marketing campaigns focus on a particular menu item, day or daypart in an attempt to drive traffic and build brand awareness. For example, in 2006 we developed a campaign to promote the rollout of our new "Ribs & Combos" menu items. Our secondary marketing campaigns focus on reaching beyond the core Buffalo Wild Wings guest. Given our strategy to be a neighborhood destination, community marketing is also a key to developing brand awareness in each market. Our restaurants actively sponsor local sporting teams and sporting events to drive guest traffic associated with those activities.
Advertising. Our media advertising focuses on positioning the Buffalo Wild Wings brand as an inviting neighborhood dining location. Our commercials, print advertisements and radio spots are irreverent by design and have been recognized in the restaurant and advertising industries for their creativity.
Franchise Involvement. System-wide campaigns and promotions are developed and implemented with input from the Buffalo Wild Wings National Advertising Advisory Board. This volunteer franchisee board is elected by franchisees annually and meets regularly to review marketing strategies, provide input on advertising messages and vendor co-op programs, and discuss marketing objectives.
Operations
Our management team strives for operational excellence by recruiting, training and supporting the highest quality management teams and employees and through the implementation of operational best practices within our restaurants.
Restaurant Management. Our management structure consists of a general manager, one assistant general manager and up to three other managers depending on sales volume of the restaurant. We utilize regional managers to oversee our general managers, ensuring that they receive the training and support necessary to effectively operate their restaurants. Currently, we have 16 regional managers who oversee four to nine restaurants each. As we expand geographically, we expect to add additional regional managers. We have five Directors of Operations who lead the Regional Managers.
Kitchen Operations. An important aspect of our concept is the efficient design, layout and execution of our kitchen operations. Due to the relatively simple preparation of our menu items, the kitchen consists of fryers, grill and food prep stations that are arranged assembly-line style for maximum productivity. Given our menu and kitchen design, we are able to staff our kitchen with hourly employees who require only basic training before reaching full productivity. Additionally, we do not require the added expense of an on-site chef. The ease and simplicity of our kitchen operations allows us to achieve our goal of preparing casual dining quality food with minimal wait times. We also believe the ease of our kitchen operations is a significant factor in attracting franchisees.
Training. We provide extensive training for management and hourly employees at company-owned restaurants, with the goal of providing an excellent guest experience based on our service, food preparation and facilities maintenance. Further, we require each franchisee to send their general manager, assistant manager and "control person" to attend our management training program.
Managers of our company-owned restaurants are trained using a two-part process. This includes hands-on education during a five-week training period at one of our certified training restaurants, coupled with an additional one-week management skills class. During this training period, our manager trainees will work in every aspect of the business, including line cook, server and manager.
Our hourly employees in company-owned restaurants complete a comprehensive position certification process. A station certification process requires 16 to 20 hours of hands-on and classroom-style training. In addition, our hourly employees are encouraged to participate in an on-the-job training program called the Wing Certified Trainer, or WCT, program that utilizes both detailed training guides and hands-on instruction by restaurant management. The certification process requires that the employee have a high level of knowledge of all 10 components of restaurant operations. These 10 components represent the six different job positions in our restaurant: cashier and greeter, bartender, server, expedite station, grill and southwest station, and chip and shake station. Monetary incentives and additional benefits are used to encourage employees to participate in this certification process. Our objective is to have at least four WCTs at each company-owned and franchised restaurant.
Career Opportunities. We attempt to motivate and retain our field operations team by providing them with opportunities for increased responsibilities and advancement. In addition, we offer performance-based cash incentives tied to sales, profitability and qualitative measures such as mystery shop scores. It is our preference to promote from within whenever possible.
Recruiting. We actively recruit and select individuals who demonstrate enthusiasm and dedication and who share our passion for high quality guest service delivered through teamwork and commitment. To attract high caliber managers, we have developed a competitive compensation plan that includes a base salary and an attractive benefits package, including participation in a management incentive plan that rewards managers for achieving performance objectives.
Food Preparation, Quality Control and Purchasing
We strive to maintain high quality standards. Our systems are designed to protect our food supply throughout the preparation process. We provide detailed specifications to suppliers for our food ingredients, products and supplies. Our restaurant managers are certified in a comprehensive food safety and sanitation course, ServSafe, developed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
We negotiate directly with independent suppliers for our supply of food and paper products. We use members of UniPro Food Services, Inc., a national cooperative of independent food distributors, to distribute these products from the suppliers to our restaurants. To maximize our purchasing efficiencies and obtain the lowest possible prices for our ingredients, products and supplies, our purchasing team negotiates prices based on system-wide usage for both company-owned and franchised restaurants. We believe that competitively priced, high quality alternative manufacturers, suppliers, growers and distributors are available should the need arise.
We utilize T. Marzetti company for the production of our signature sauces. They maintain sufficient inventory levels to ensure consistent supply to our restaurants. We have a confidentiality agreement with Marzetti which prevents our sauces from being supplied to, or manufactured for, anyone else.
Fresh chicken wings are an important component of our cost of sales. Prices are generally based on the underlying commodity price of chicken wings plus additional costs for handling and distribution. Fresh chicken wings accounted for approximately 24%, 27%, and 34% of our cost of sales in 2006, 2005, and 2004, respectively. We ensure consistent supply of high quality chicken wings by utilizing four to six suppliers, with Peco Foods, Inc. currently accounting for approximately 33% of the total system-wide supply. Given our multiple suppliers and the commodity nature of fresh chicken wings, we believe we have sufficient supplier flexibility to maintain a consistent chicken wing supply. We regularly review our buying procedures to ensure quality and cost optimization.
Restaurant Franchise Operations
Our concept continues to attract a strong group of franchisees, many of whom have substantial prior restaurant operations experience. Our franchisees execute a separate franchise agreement for each restaurant opened, typically providing for a 15 to 20-year initial term, with an opportunity to enter into a renewal franchise agreement subject to certain conditions. Our agreement currently requires franchisees to pay an initial franchise fee of $42,500 for the first restaurant opened and $32,500 for each additional restaurant they open. The $32,500 fee is reduced to $12,500 if the additional restaurant is in the designated area of the franchisee's existing restaurant. If a franchisee has entered into an area development agreement with us, the initial franchise fee is $42,500 for the first restaurant, $32,500 for the second restaurant and $27,500 for each subsequent restaurant. These amounts are reduced to $32,500 for the first restaurant and $12,500 for each subsequent restaurant if the franchisee is an existing area developer signing an additional area development agreement. If the franchisee is an existing franchisee that subsequently signs an area development agreement, the franchise fee is $32,500 for the first restaurant and $22,500 for each subsequent restaurant.
Franchisees also pay us a royalty fee of 5.0% of their restaurant sales. Franchise agreements typically allow us to assess franchisees an advertising fee in the amount of 3.5% of their restaurant sales, of which 3.0% was contributed to our Advertising Fund in 2006 and the remaining 0.5% was spent directly by the franchisee in the applicable local market. Our current form of franchise agreement permits us to increase the required contribution to the Advertising Fund by 0.5% once every three years. The amount contributed to the Advertising Fund increased from 2.5% to 3.0% on December 26, 2005.
All of our franchise agreements require that each franchised restaurant be operated in accordance with our defined operating procedures, adhere to the menu established by us, meet applicable quality, service, health and cleanliness standards and comply with all applicable laws. We ensure these high standards are being followed through a variety of means including mystery shoppers and announced and unannounced quality assurance inspections. We also employ franchise consultants to assist our franchisees in developing profitable operations and maintaining our operating standards. We may terminate the franchise rights of any franchisee who does not comply with our standards and requirements. We believe that maintaining superior food quality, an inviting and energetic atmosphere and excellent guest service are critical to the reputation and success of our concept; therefore, we aggressively enforce the contractual requirements of our franchise agreements.
The area development agreement establishes the number of restaurants that must be developed in a defined geographic area and the deadlines by which these restaurants must open. For area development agreements covering three to seven restaurants, restaurants are usually required to open in 12-month intervals. For larger development agreements, the interval is typically shorter. The area development agreement can be terminated by us if, among other reasons, the area developer fails to open restaurants on schedule.
Management Information Systems
We have our core management information systems in place and believe they are scalable to support our future growth plans. We utilize a standard point-of-sale system in all of our company-owned restaurants that helps facilitate the operation of the restaurants by recording sales, cost of sales, labor and other operating metrics and allows managers to create various reports. We currently are reviewing the capabilities of our current point-of-sale system to ensure it is sufficient to support our planned expansion. Certain information from the point-of-sale system is transferred to our headquarters on a daily basis and is reported daily to various levels of management through email and our corporate intranet. Franchisees are required to report sales on a daily basis through an on-line reporting network and submit their restaurant-level financial statements on a quarterly or annual basis…”
