FSR Magazine: How Buffalo Wings & Rings Responded Quickly to COVID-19

According to a recent article in FSR Magazine , Buffalo Wings & Rings ’ CEO Nader Masadeh views the early warning that all Ohio bars and restaurants received about temporary closings due to COVID-19 was “a blessing of sorts.”

This warning allowed the Cincinnati-based 80-unit franchise to prepare for the pandemic. “Immediately within that first 24-48 hours, we started thinking the magnitude of this is huge and it’s not going to be limited to Ohio. It’s not going to be just a week,” Masadeh explains in the article. “So we started reading between the lines to figure out quickly what we were going to do.”

As the COVID-19 crisis began, Buffalo Wings & Rings’ executive team drafted a global plan for franchisees designed to support them through these unprecedented times, especially during what is traditionally a busy season because of March Madness. Buffalo Wings & Rings also set up a fund for aid store-level employees that have been laid off or furloughed along with offering them free meals, no questions asked. Masadeh added that the brand has also reduced loyalty payments by 2 percent for franchisees while providing every operator with a franchise business consultant to get through the coming 30, 60 and 90 days.

As Buffalo Wings & Rings continues to prepare for the other side of the pandemic, locations are already seeing positive signs. Masadeh told FSR, “Early April appreciated a significant bump relative to March, as stimulus checks opened spending up and people simply started to get tired of the same routine”.