---
title: "Grand Rapids Business Journal: Grand Rapids Ranks as a Top City for New Businesses"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/bd6549ab-3dcf-4a00-8e5c-65218a2a6245
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/grand-rapids-business-journal-grand-rapids-ranks-as-a-top-city-for-new-businesses-12334
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2017-05-25T22:17:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:11:04.261Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/c98da86896358ac02d3a380498f839a15196.jpg
---

# Grand Rapids Business Journal: Grand Rapids Ranks as a Top City for New Businesses

**TL;DR:** Grand Rapids ranks as one of the best cities in the U.S. for new businesses, including Buffalo Wings & Rings, due to its family-friendly demographics. Buffalo Wings & Rings is looking to expand in the area, with chief development officer Philip Schram stating that they will wait to find the right partner.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2017-05-25. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/grand-rapids-business-journal-grand-rapids-ranks-as-a-top-city-for-new-businesses-12334).*

## Story

Grand Rapids was recently named one of the best cities in the U.S. for new businesses. The Grand Rapids Business Journal spoke with Buffalo Wings & Rings chief development officer Philip Schram about the brand and their development plans for the area.

According to the piece, it is Grand Rapids' older, more family-friendly demographics that make it so appealing to Buffalo Wings & Rings.

Said Schram to the Journal, “Wing joints typically are a place to watch a game and drink beer, but the food is not the most compelling reason to go there. We buy superior quality food and make 90 percent fresh, with bold flavor."

The article also mentions that while there is no hurry to find the right partner in Grand Rapids, interest is starting to pop up in Michigan.

Said Schram, “This is a fresh search. Michigan has been hurt fairly badly with the Great Recession, and we’re just starting to see the interest in Michigan. The franchisee is a critical piece of our success, and we will wait until we find the right individual; we won’t lower the standard for the selection.”

Other brands eyeing expansion in the market include Best In Class and FranNet.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- unit expansion (topic)
- franchise development (topic)
- FranNet (company)
- Wings and Rings (company)
- grand rapids (location)
- new businesses (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/grand-rapids-business-journal-grand-rapids-ranks-as-a-top-city-for-new-businesses-12334). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/bd6549ab-3dcf-4a00-8e5c-65218a2a6245).