Birth of a franchise
Words by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt
How Buffalo’s chicken wings are taking off around the US.
The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, enjoys a culinary first: It’s the birth place of the chicken wing. Now celebrating its 71st year in business, the Anchor Bar sells more than 1,500 pounds of Perdue wings every day, including its overnight wing deliveries to all points in the US (more than 300 orders flew out the door for Super Bowl Sunday). But will the launch of its franchise program also turn golden? The Anchor Bar Franchise Company LLC partners believe they’ve drummed up a restaurant concept creative enough to compete with upscale eateries such as the Cheesecake Factory, which, by the way, doesn’t offer franchises.
If you’re not from Buffalo, there’s still a good chance that you—or someone you know—has nabbed a seat in Frank & Teressa’s Anchor Bar over the last 50 years. the neighborhood restaurant/ bar opened in 1935 with Teressa Bellissimo’s homemade Italian dishes, but it wasn’t until 1964, when Teressa decided to fry up some chicken wings too plump to waste in her soup pot, that the eatery earned its place in history—launching a food craze that has become a menu staple across the planet.
It’s typical to wait for more than an hour for a table inside the Anchor Bar’s nearly 7,000-square-foot red brick location after a Bills or Sabres game. Yet longtime manager Ivano Toscani says he’s seen die-hard wing fans—bikers, businessmen, Canadian sports junkies—patiently wait for three hours to be served. “And we’ve never had a single fight!” he adds proudly in his Italian accent.
The Anchor Bar’s star has never been brighter. In fact, investors have been trying to nab franchise rights for the last 10 years. But it wasn’t until 2003, after an offer of $100,000 and 5% of the gross, that Toscani sought the advice of franchise expert Henry Weber, a loyal Anchor Bar customer. Weber was quick to declare, “this is not someth ing you give away; it’s someth ing you keep.” Weber then “quarterbacked” the offering, forming the Anchor Bar Franchise Company LLC with Toscani and a third partner, franchise veteran John Veyette. It’s Veyette’s job to recruit franchisees. He says he’s been busy. Since debuting the program in December, he’s talked with potential investors about sites in Dallas, New Jersey, New York and Florida.
This strong interest, says Weber, is due to investors recognizing a unique opportunity. “We don’t really know who invented the hamburger,” he says. “But we do know who invented the chicken wing. that makes it an original American product.”
To plan out every detail of the franchise’s th ree design templates, Veyette hired kitchen efficiency expert Michael Owings, CEO of Creative Culinary Design. Owings’ reputation in the food industry derives from his “double-whammy”—an ability to devise creative menus and efficient, high-tech kitchens that minimize effort and maximize profits. For the franchise Anchor Bars, he has blended the “best” culinary technique with the “right” equipment—enhancing taste while serving product faster.
So, whether franchisees choose to open an “Anchor Bar To Go” (1,000 to 2,000 square feet withan abbreviated menu and counter, ideal for airports, food courts, student unions or casinos), an “Anchor Bar In-Line” (3,000 to 4,000 square feet with table service but no bar) or the “Anchor Bar Replica,” in which they must offer a full menu, bar area and live music on Friday nights, franchisees can count on Owings’ team to tweak the design templates until they mesh perfectly with the space constraints of each site.
Veyette believes that Owings’ attention to detail—even ensuring that station cooks need not travel more than th ree feet in any direction to man their stations—sets franchisees on the road to success. After all, as he puts it: “In the restaurant business the two th ings you worry about most are food costs and labor costs.”
To open an Anchor Bar Replica, investors need to plunk down between $1.7 million and $2.3 million. In return, they get a lot: design support; their real estate; an automated inventory and sales report system; a security system that allows owners to remotely view, in real time, what’s happening inside their restaurants; an audio/visual system that includes pre-programmed muzak and Bill’s Games; startup inventory and supplies; six weeks of owner and employee training; a cushion cash fund for the first th ree month s of operation; and a support hotline accessible 24/7.
Still, the investment is steep when compared with Wings To Go, which only requires franchisees to fork over between $162,000 and $298,500 to open each location. Veyette says you can’t compare apples to oranges. “We’re not a wing take-out joint,” he explains. “We’re so much more.”
In Veyette’s mind, not only will Anchor Bar franchisees serve up tastier wings—and do so in a fun family atmosphere—but the wings will be backed up with a full menu that caters to regional tastes. In Louisiana, for example, diners might nibble on wings and crawfish and catfish; in Maine, wings and baked oysters and lobster rolls; in Albuquerque, even a bit of Tex-Mex. And while the crispy, meaty roaster wings in the famous “Suicide” sauce, or perhaps one of the 34 gourmet wings developed specifically for franchisees (such as coconut crusted and chipotle BBQ) will entice Buffalo expatriates th rough each franchise’s door, it’s the menu’s salads, meats, pastas and desserts, freshly prepared on site—developed from extensive research of national taste preferences—that will entice patrons back.
Owings adds that it is the partners’ commitment to innovation and the belief that quality (superior product and service) will take care of quantity (sales) that is enabling Veyette to be selective in choosing who gets the chance to invest. “though our program will work anywhere—because we’re willing to be flexible with individual franchise sites—I still want to hear the right noises from investors,” says Veyette. “I don’t want to see a single failure.”
Veyette is looking for investors who have a burning desire to be successful, who appreciate that all the recipes, systems and support networks have already been hashed out—and who will adhere to some mighty high benchmarks.
“If franchisees don’t deviate from our standards,” adds Veyette, a smile chasing across his face, “they’ll be happy campers.”
Banking on a long history of innovation and success, Anchor Bar hopes to expand far beyond its modest roots and capitalize on a culinary innovation that has become ubiquitous throughout the country. And with its strategically conceived franchise plans, the sky’s the limit.
The International Franchise Association (IFA) says there are many factors to consider before buying into a franchise. For more information, peruse the IFA website at www..franchise.org.
- Before selecting a franchise, know how much money you have to invest. Also recognize your abilities and goals.
- Be aware that franchises with name recognition are more likely to draw customers familiar with their name, products or services.
- Get a copy of the franchisor’s disclosure document, sometimes called a Franchise Offering Circular (FOC). By law, you must receive the FOC at least 10 business days before you sign the contract or pay funds to the franchisor.
- Recognize that franchisors offer varying amounts of training support. Know how much training you’ll receive and decide if it’s enough for you to be able to run business operations.
- Carefully review all contracts. Contract issues that arise after you sign on the dotted line may be impossible to correct. Consider hiring a lawyer to explain the contract.