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Buffalo Wild Wings is Coming to O'Fallon: Restaurant Plans to Open By Late Spring

Posted on: Thursday, 29 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By Scott Wuerz, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill., Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.

O'FALLON -- A popular chicken wing restaurant soon will flap into town.

Buffalo Wild Wings, a Minneapolis-based chain with 350 restaurants in 34 states, plans to open by late spring at 1424 Central Park Circle.

"The word we have is that they're coming to O'Fallon," assistant city administrator Pam Funk said. "We just got their preliminary paperwork."

David Jones and Doug Tieber will operate the local franchise. They could not be reached for comment, but company spokesman Liz Brady said their location will have 6,000 square feet and will employ about 55 people.

Buffalo Wild Wings, formerly known as BW3, is a hybrid of a sports bar and a family restaurant. It has big screen televisions with satellite connections that show sports to patrons as they dine on chicken wings spiced up with one of the company's 12 signature sauces. Flavors include teriyaki, sweet BBQ, mild, smoky southwestern, medium, spicy garlic, Thai, Caribbean jerk, hot BBQ, hot, wild and blazin' plus seasonal varieties.

The restaurant, which recently popped up in the area with locations in St. Louis, Ballwin, Creve Couer, south county and St. Charles and O'Fallon, Mo., also serves a variety of burgers, sandwiches, wraps and appetizers and offer a wide selection of beer to wash it all down.

It has a laid back atmosphere where customers can order their food as they enter, then find a table where it is brought to them by a server.

The migration to St. Louis and the metro-east is part of a massive nationwide expansion project the company is currently undertaking.

"Our plan is to expand by 20-25 percent a year," company President and CEO Sally Smith said. "It's an exciting plan for Buffalo Wild Wings, and we have a great team in place to achieve it."

The company has increased its size tenfold since 1994 when it had 35 eateries. Founded in 1982 in Columbus, Ohio, Buffalo Wild Wings was nearly bankrupt in 1994 when its founders called on Smith to take over operations.

In 2004, the company reported earnings in excess of $170 million. Smith said it would eventually like to have 1,000 locations and expand to other countries.

Contact reporter Scott Wuerz at swuerz@bnd.com or 239-2626.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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NASDAQ-NMS:BWLD, Australia:DJS,

Source: Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.)

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