Muncie may soon get a whole lot saucier. The Buffalo Wings & Rings franchise has identified the city as an ideal location for its restaurant.
Buffalo Wings & Rings began in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has been expanding ever since its start in 1984.
The restaurant’s focus is on serving quality food in a family atmosphere. Philip Schram, the company’s chief development officer, said they call this “club-level service.”
“Think about when you go to a game. Everyone is watching the same game, but the seats make a difference,” Schram said. “If you are at the club level or the sky box — you get better service. That’s why we are the club-level experience.”
The franchise is already in other parts of Indiana, such as Richmond, Greensburg and Jasper.
Schram said while Ball State could bring in customers, they are more focused on serving the families in the area than the college student.
“I find the college student is on a limited budget, and it seems the ratio between the food and the beer might be a little bit more on the beer side,” he said with a laugh.
Schram is very committed to the vision of Wings & Rings. Born and raised in France, he came to the United States in 1999 with his wife to realize his dream of owning a business. He and his business partner Nader Masadeh, now the CEO of Buffalo Wings & Rings, invested in the company because they saw potential for growth as the founder retired.
Since taking over the franchise, the number of locations have increased times ten, with seventy locations in the U.S. and around the world. Schram said he enjoys many parts of American business, but loves the family values most of all.
“We really like it a lot, to live in the United States,” he said. “Because of our family values, we have always been very integrated with the communities, and giving back has always been a part of the franchise.”
That’s why they started the Buffalo Foundation in 2016, with a focus on fighting child hunger. Schram said initiatives are self-driven by each franchise and aim to connect the restaurant employees with the community.
Schram himself attends the service events that happen in the company’s hometown of Cincinnati.
“Here in Cincinnati we work with St. Vincent de Paul, and for one day our staff was helping,” Schram said. “They wanted to set up an area to grow produce, so we had to build a place so they could seed and grow the produce."
They celebrate "Founder’s Day" on Feb. 19, which is the anniversary of the day they brought the company. Schram said for those who work there, it’s a day to “give back.”
The company is in the process of advertising to find a franchise in the Muncie area within the next six months. After that, construction is all that stands in between the city and some family wings.
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