--- title: "Wild Birds Unlimited Celebrates Three Consecutive New Openings During July 2016" url: https://burnaze.com/article/ce71a80d-6b68-444b-9a7a-fb6516c091ab source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/wild-birds-unlimited-celebrates-three-consecutive-new-openings-during-july-2016-5761 category: "Retail" industry: "Retail" published: 2016-09-07T22:17:17.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T03:13:08.032Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/94058ca031063f4905ae0bbc60ae5c084681160907173717.jpeg --- # Wild Birds Unlimited Celebrates Three Consecutive New Openings During July 2016 **TL;DR:** Wild Birds Unlimited opened three new locations in July 2016, following the opening of its 300th location in late June. The brand's momentum is building, with a focus on the success of individual franchisees. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-09-07. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/wild-birds-unlimited-celebrates-three-consecutive-new-openings-during-july-2016-5761).* ## Story When Warren and Courtney French moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia last year, one of the first things they noticed were all of the bluebirds congregating in their backyard. Coming from Massachusetts, it was a sight they had never seen before. In a way, the Frenches saw their backyard visitors as a sign that their new business venture was the right one. For 30 years, Warren ran a family business in the packing and crating industry. Meanwhile, his wife worked as a nurse. Throughout their careers, they maintained an outdoor “bird oasis” as a personal retreat from their hectic lives. But when the couple retired, they realized it was time to turn their favorite pastime into an enjoyable career. That’s when they learned about the Wild Birds Unlimited franchising opportunity in Virginia. The couple had frequented a local Wild Birds Unlimited in Massachusetts, and after learning that Fredericksburg, Virginia was a target market for Wild Birds Unlimited, the Frenches decided to open one of their own. On July 21, 2016, they officially opened the doors to their first location in the Fredericksburg’s Central Park shopping center. - “We always had a love of feeding backyard birds. When we had the family business and Courtney worked long hours as a nurse, it was always our way to relax. To be able to bring something that has brought us so much joy over the years to the people in Fredericksburg is a dream come true in so many ways,” Warren said. The Frenches are just one of three Wild Birds Unlimited locations that opened in the month of July. The day after the Fredericksburg opening, Chris Darlington opened her second Wild Birds Unlimited store in Georgetown, Texas. Then, on July 23 rd , Chris Weaver continued Wild Bird Unlimited’s winning streak by opening his first store in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. - “Birding is the second largest outdoor hobby behind gardening, everybody here—our customers and our employees—love their birds and their backyards, and that’s what makes all the difference. Wild Birds Unlimited separates itself from the crowd because our business brings us joy. I had every reason to continue spreading that joy to more and more people,” Darlington said. The three consecutive openings come after Wild Birds Unlimited hit an important milestone in the brand’s 35-year history—the opening of its 300 th location in late June. According to Paul Pickett, Wild Bird’s Unlimited’s chief development officer, the sequential openings last month show that the brand’s momentum is only building—and he has every reason to believe that this is only the beginning of an upward climb. - “Our main focus at the Wild Birds Unlimited has always been on the success of each individual franchisee and their ability to meet their own goals. That’s why it’s so exciting to see so many stores opening their doors for business this summer,” Pickett said. “At the end of the day, of course, these are just numbers. But what they represent is something pretty extraordinary—that Wild Birds Unlimited’s mission of bringing people and nature together is something that people increasingly want to be a part of.” ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - franchise expansion (topic) - Retail (sector) - Wild Birds Unlimited (company) - Paul Pickett (person) - wild birds unlimited (topic) - new openings (topic) - Georgetown, Texas (location) - Fredericksburg, Virginia (location) - Glen Mills, Pennsylvania (location) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/wild-birds-unlimited-celebrates-three-consecutive-new-openings-during-july-2016-5761). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/ce71a80d-6b68-444b-9a7a-fb6516c091ab).