---
title: "East Coast Wings + Grill Breaks into South Carolina with New Franchise Agreement"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/17eb813e-e36b-4879-9ff1-8e480f24c7c1
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/news/20211115_east_coast_wings__grill_breaks_into_south_carolina_with_new_franchise_agree.html
category: "Chicken"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Chicken"
published: 2021-11-15T12:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:12:13.974Z
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1555396273-367ea4eb4db5?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop
---

# East Coast Wings + Grill Breaks into South Carolina with New Franchise Agreement

**TL;DR:** East Coast Wings + Grill has signed a new franchise agreement with Deep and Charmi Patel to expand into South Carolina. The brand is focusing on franchise sales and expansion strategy, with a refreshed website and measures to reduce overhead and strengthen unit economics.

*originally published in Franchising.com on 2021-11-15. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/news/20211115_east_coast_wings__grill_breaks_into_south_carolina_with_new_franchise_agree.html).*

## Story

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Nov. 15, 2021 // PRNewswire // - East Coast Wings + Grill, a full-service, family-dining restaurant franchise, announced it has a new franchise partner who has signed a franchise agreement for Florence, South Carolina.

The single-unit deal is with franchise partners Deep and Charmi Patel. The experienced owners are a part of successful businesses throughout Florence, which include convenient stores and a QSR restaurant location.

The South Carolina franchise agreement follows the brand's recent investments and focus on franchise sales and expansion strategy, which included a refreshed website and several measures to reduce overhead and further strengthen unit economics.

"We had a vision last year to reengineer the website and restructure our franchise sales strategies for the next five years to better attract and serve entrepreneurs in restaurant category," said Sam Ballas, CEO of ECW+G. "Part of the adjusted strategy involved putting the right people in the right seats at the company," Ballas said, alluding to moving former Executive VP of Operations Mark Lyso to the role of Chief Development Officer.

Lyso, a 23-year franchise veteran, will lead franchise development strategy and build a franchise sales team to catapult the brand's growth. Before joining ECW+G in 2017 in an operations role, Lyso spearheaded growth in franchise development roles for brands including Sizzler and Pizza Rev.

"Over the next three years, Mark (Lyso) will be expanding his development department with individuals who understand that strong unit-level economics is the foundation on which ECW+G is built," Ballas noted.

East Coast Wings + Grill continues to remain at 46 percent side-door/carryout sales and experience a steady flow of 54 percent dine-in revenue. They are up 26 percent higher than pre-pandemic sales.

"The unwavering strength of our existing operators speaks volumes to the refined and reduced labor business model," Lyso said. "We'll be able to strategically place our streamlined operations into regional markets with the right franchise partners who understand you need a forward-thinking solution to generate and sustain profits in the changing restaurant landscape."

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- unit expansion (topic)
- franchise agreement (topic)
- south carolina (location)
- expansion strategy (topic)
- East Coast Wings + Grill (company)
- Sam Ballas (person)
- Sizzler (company)

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Originally reported by Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/news/20211115_east_coast_wings__grill_breaks_into_south_carolina_with_new_franchise_agree.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/17eb813e-e36b-4879-9ff1-8e480f24c7c1).