Capriotti's Sandwich Shop to Buy Wing Zone

Capriotti's Sandwich Shop announced on Monday that it has acquired Wing Zone, a chicken wing delivery concept focused on serving college markets.

Capriotti’s said in a press release that it had seen “incredible success in 2020,” including selling at least 106 new franchise locations to multi-unit franchisees and seeing record profitability for existing stores.

As for why it purchased Wing Zone, which is currently also breaking off-premise sales records and selling franchises, Capriotti’s credited a “mutual focus on serving fans and flavor-seekers across the nation the highest quality products both in-store and off-premise as demand for delivery and online ordering skyrockets.”

Restaurant Business Online reported that Wing Zone's sales overall were down 12% from last year. The chicken wing restaurant has just below 70 units worldwide.

Wing Zone CEO Matt Friedman has long been a vocal opponent of third party delivery apps and a champion of restaurants running their own delivery operations.

Capriotti’s press release hinted at collaboration in the delivery space and a continuation of Friedman’s mission.

“Between Capriotti's tech-forward strategy, infrastructure and profitability, and Wing Zone's innovative delivery systems that cater to the rising demand for off-premise dining, both brands will bring each other a tremendous depth of service, meant to cement Capriotti's and Wing Zone as top players in the fast-casual sector,” the release read.