Why This Franchisee Gave Back $141K — Kyle Huck, Wings Etc.

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Kyle Huck: Well, thanks, Jeremy. Thanks for having us on. so I'm Kyle Huck and I am a multi-unit franchise owner for Wings, etc. fortunate enough to be in business with my brother Chad and my sister-in-law Missy and my wife Kristen. so we've opened our first wings eleven years ago this or yeah, eleven years ago this August. And we have another store we opened nine years ago in Caldwell, Ohio, and three years ago in Belpre Ohio.

Jeremy Julian: Awesome. Awesome. Colt, why don't you introduce yourself real quick? I know you get a chance to work for Wings Success Corporate. And so kind of kinda what do you get the privilege of of doing for the brand?

Colton LeTourneau: Yeah. Yeah. yeah, again, thanks for having us, Jeremy. my name is Colt Laterno. I'm the senior director of marketing for Wings Et cetera. I well, with marketing comes a lot of things, right? But pretty much everything under the sun. you know, my my main focus though is is supporting our franchisees and really the brand. So building outbound marketing campaigns that that drive traffic to our stores and you know, working with them individually, working with our co-ops, doing things that might be unique or different, and then just trying to differentiate ourselves as a brand from from our competitors. So, you know, it's this world is is crazy. the restaurant industry is is ever changing and very tough. So we're always doing what we can to put our best foot forward.

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Colton LeTourneau: I wish.

Jeremy Julian: but yeah. I know you guys are, you know, I guess a a a relatively decent sized chain. but Kyle, for those that haven't been to a Wings, etc., I I was sharing with with our guests before we hit record that I personally got a chance to go at one of the stores and you know outside of Columbus a couple of years back. But for those that are not familiar, because you guys just under a hundred restaurants it looks like when I look on the website, so you're not a a wing stop, you six, seven hundred thousand, twelve hundred stores, but obviously sizable enough that you guys have gotten, you know, over that fifty mark, which is always a hard thing to do. So Kyle, what is the concept? Tell me a little bit more about the concept. And then really let's just lean into what drew you to it eleven years ago.

Kyle Huck: So the concept is sports bar. I mean it's it's great chicken, great wings and great burgers. I mean the the really good food. you know, overall it's kind of that bar food experience and So we have we have a family dining side and we also kind of have like the bar dining side where we have high tops and we kind of differentiate differentiate that in between our our restaurants so people can kinda guests can get that experience however they wanna, you know, kinda wanna enjoy the place. you know, 30 plus TVs on the walls and really enjoying the the sport experience. jutebox playing, the the guests can select the songs in at least in my stores, it's not in every store. And you know, that that good casual dining, you know, experience with really good food. So eleven years ago what drew me to Wings was a lack of restaurant representation in our area. And I decided to to venture into the restaurant business and I found I found Wings online. Ironically enough, just a

Jeremy Julian: Yeah.

Kyle Huck: Google search located Wings And I knew some people they were they were based in Indiana and I knew some family over there and I called and and they were like, We love wings, we go there all the time. So I got a hold of corporate, took a trip out, and I said this would go really well where I'm from. So we were the first store in Ohio, opened Marietta 11 years ago again and then like I said, then we opened Caldwell and then Belpree. we've also you know, I I feel honored we've inspired a few other franchisees in the area. There's two stores in West Virginia. you know, we kinda have five of right down here in our area. They there's another group that's been they do a fantastic job and they've got a store in Vienna and St. Mary's, West Virginia. So we kinda have like a a little wings family down here that's kinda sprouted. so it's been it's been really good. It's been an awesome experience. and as far as I'm concerned, you know, working with corporate They're they're a great group of people and we've been very fortunate to to get into get into Wings.

Jeremy Julian: Yeah, it's always fun when I've got the the franchisees that actually like corporate, because that's not

Colton LeTourneau: Yeah.

Jeremy Julian: I know this is one of your first brands there, Kyle, but like it's not always the case that way, man. You know, when I get a franchise or and a franchisee saying, hey, they'll get on a phone call together and it's not too to not with a lawyer involved and it's on a podcast to talk about how things are successful. That's part of why I like those stories, because it's it really shows and and one of the things that I'm gonna pass over to Colton here in a second is this the whole idea of When done well, both sides can be successful and I love that. And I know we're gonna kind of talk about how do you tell the story. But Colton, real quick, I the one of the things as as a consumer of the brand that I did think was cool, I happen to be a father of four. So there's times that I'm going out with my boys and I want to go have some wings and you know, have a drink and kind of sit in the sports bar area. And then there's other times that it's hey, my family wants to go out to eat and I don't need the experience of a sports bar where it's loud and obnoxious and I can't even hear my kids talking to you know, it's hard enough to get my teenagers to talk to me regardless, nonetheless when you can't hear over the the sound of the TV. I guess talk to me about how you tell that story from from a brand perspective. Cause e i when I first walked in I had no idea, but I was like, this is kind of cool because now I can experience the brand, how I want to experience the brand. And I I guess I'd love love to hear kind of how do you think about that when you're where you're crafting messaging and putting it out into the world.

Colton LeTourneau: Yeah, I mean, you know, since since nineteen ninety four when when the brand originally started, you know, the the whole goal that Jim Weaver, our founder, had in mind was to to create a local sports bar feel and presence in in the community. And, you know, years later it's it's become what it's become. But you know, I think when someone steps inside of our restaurant they get that feeling. we give our franchisees the ability to kind of make the store their own and and it feels like you're in your local community. We have we give them the ability to hang local decor and hang signage that represents the towns that the the location is in. And so it really just strengthens the brand and creates, you know, loyal guests who feel seen in our restaurants. They are going in there and seeing local memorabilia and apparel. And, you know, it it it's not overly intimidating or overly corporate when you walk into our restaurants. But that was again like the goal that the Jim had was how can I make this a pub, a local pub feel, but also still have that that national brand identity.

Jeremy Julian: Yeah. And and again, as a consumer, have I mean, I've only been into one store, but I definitely felt that. Kyle, I know that you guys have done quite a bit to I guess double down on that local community involvement. I guess I'd love for you to talk a little bit about that, because that was one of the things that intrigued me about kind of the pitch when you guys wanted to come on, is is just how much how much I guess you guys have intentionally done in partnering with corporate and even kind of on your local store side to be part of the community. We all felt it in COVID when kind of the restaurants you couldn't go into them and it it was a real struggle because it you didn't realize how much and again I this is my entire life. I've spent my entire career and really my entire life kind of working in and around restaurants, and you don't realize how much you use them to celebrate and you use them to to come you know, do lots of different things as families and as businesses. And and again, you guys have done a really, really good job of making that, you know, First in kinda kinda your guys' go to market. I guess I'd love for you to talk a little bit about how you guys have done that and where did all all that even really come from?

Kyle Huck: So being involved in and local community is as a small town local business owner is probably one of the most important things that we can do. people wanna feel a part of the businesses. They wanna feel like what they do, what they say, where they eat, where they spend their dollars matters. And it does. And So when when you are part of the community and you engage with them in in many different ways, and we have many different ways that we engage with the communities, I just wrote a check yesterday to sponsor the student section of the the sports for the whole year. So a lot of local community businesses go together and we donate. I was a silver sponsor, it was a five hundred dollar donation, and the students get into all the games free. So no student pays

Jeremy Julian: That's awesome.

Kyle Huck: to get into a sporting event at the high school for the whole year to every sporting event. but the businesses take take care of that. And but being being involved in that community, the the the community members see that and then they patronize your business and it's it's cyclical. You know, there's there's it's not just, you know, we give back to give back, we want to give back, we wanna be part of the community, but it also does buy you the good graces of the community. And I think it's important too from a a strategic point from a business owner because we are far from perfect. I will tell you right now, we we mess up more than I would like to. And we try hard not to, but it happens. And when you mess up and you've taken care of the community and the community appreciates what you do, they're a lot more lenient with you than when you're not a member of the community, not a part of the community. So I felt that that's been you know, been very good. And and a lot of the community members they were active, we're part of the community, they know us, they'll reach out then, they'll let us know when something doesn't go right, because they feel a part of it, they feel invested, they wanna see they wanna see the restaurant succeed.

Jeremy Julian: Well, and what would you what would you say to those restaurant operators that say, I'm the only sports bar in town, so they're gonna come to me regardless of whether I sponsor those kids. And and again, I you hear it. I hear it from owners out there from time to time. And I I I I wanna before before I keep going and and let you answer that question, funny enough, my my son played in the Northwoods League down in in Richmond, Indiana, just on the other side of the Ohio Indiana border this summer. And he was playing baseball, you know, kinda collegiate baseball league up there and In in Richmond, small little town in Indiana, there was a ton of the restaurants that were, you know, if he showed up with his with his Richmond ID, he got, you know, a free short stack at IHOP or he got this or he got that. And and again, he not only patronized it, but when I went up to watch him play, it was like, dude, we're gonna go here, not just because I get this, but because these guys take care of me. And so I guess I'd love for you to tell that story that says why, if you're the only place in town that's gonna be the sports bar, everybody's gonna go there before, after the games to have a beer and and watch a game, why be that? you know, kind of forward this as, well, you know, why why why do you think it's so important to invest not only your money but your time?

Kyle Huck: I mean the the big reason again is the the well, we are the only sports bar town. So

Jeremy Julian: Yeah. Yeah. So but you would have an owner say, Why, why, why write that check for five hundred bucks? They're gonna come anyway. And the kids are gonna probably find a way to get into the game regardless, whether I write the check for five hundred dollars or not. And again, I know I'm playing a little bit antithetical to what what your belief is. And for those that are watching on video, we're all kind of chuckling about it, but I think it it's a it's a true

Kyle Huck: You

Jeremy Julian: story that sometimes it happens.

Kyle Huck: No, you you're you're not wrong, but at the same time, yes, they are gonna go. And I agree they would they would find their way up to wings. Would as many find their way up to wings on a Friday night after a ballgame? if you swing up to wings after football Friday night, you're people people actually like I'll be in the stands and I'll hear people saying, I'm gonna leave now and go get us a table. I'm gonna leave now and go get us a table. But would as many go? Would Probably not. There's more people that go. Our name our names are on the banner that's on the field. It says silver sponsor. They're saying it over the loudspeakers, you know, wings, et cetera, silver sponsor. Thanks for, you know, helping all the students get in free to the game. and it's that continual message over and over and over again. And and that's the way marketing works is you want your name in the forefront of their mind over and over and over again. not just from for that or for that circumstance, but What happens next Tuesday night when, you know, something happens, everybody's late getting home and they go, We need to get some food. I take just order takeout at Wings. Let's go get a well, we'll just we'll swing by and pick up some takeout because our our name is on the forefront of their thought their their brain. So it it happens all the time, all week, not just that, you know, that Friday night after the ballgame or or whatever, you know, day that happens to be. but we and we do more than just the schools. We do we do the dine to donates, we do We support the local fair. That's a a big one every year. We buy, you know, buy animals at the fair for the kids. We we donate wingnut bucks usually to just about any benefit that ask. I usually don't do a lot of cash for benefits, but if they're having a country store a drawing, we'll we'll give them wing nut bucks where people can come back to wings and redeem them and and get food and they can raffle those off in country stores. But there's all kinds of ways to get involved that actually benefit the restaurant as well, like that. I don't mind giving wingnut bucks to to different benefits and stuff. I mean, I I there's so many all the time and you want to help everybody, but it I I can't give cash to all of that. But if I give them wingnut bucks and they bring back into the store and redeem them, they're probably bringing people with them. They're probably having a, you know, a couple of drinks and they're they're spending, having a good time. And again, I also look at it as a as a potential marketing campaign. Somebody could win that win that raffle, win that wingnut buck that maybe we messed up on. And maybe now we get a second chance. Right? All there's all kinds of of positive that you can spin from it.

Jeremy Julian: Yeah. Well, and and Colton, I'd love for you to talk a little bit about local store marketing. It is one of the challenges that I hear from time to time. And again, we've just listened to Kyle talk a little bit about kind of some of the ways that he considers it. As a corporate corporate group, you want to enable your franchisees to be successful and at the same time, don't necessarily want them always going out and supporting things that maybe not fit the brand image or don't do what you guys want them to do. And so there's always a a fine line of are they going too far with local store marketing? How do you manage it? How do you get attribution? How do you get into the point of sale? And again, for those watching on video, you guys are hearing these stories. But I guess I'd love to talk about what have you guys set in place and how do you how do you work collectively with Kyle and the other franchisees? Because what Kyle's doing in his store might be very different than what the store that's, you know, in Indiana is doing. That's different than the store in Columbus is doing. So I'd love for you to talk a little bit about how you consider local store marketing and how do you give autonomy enough to be able to be part of the community and be able to serve them, but also keep some level of consistency for corporate to make sure that you guys understand what's going on.

Colton LeTourneau: Yeah. So I mean Kyle kind of touched on it, you know, as as a s a sports bar, you know, being actively involved in our communities, especially with our local high schools, just falls well in line with our brand. sports, local sports, anything that we can do to be involved with them is what we encourage our franchisees to to be a part of. you know In addition to that, we we really tried to push them towards, you know, local youth sports or or charities or community events. Those all fall in line with with with our brand. and and again, sponsoring things that can build trust within the community from a brand perspective, you know, the the deeper our roots are within a community through those avenues again only builds trust in in Again, someone who sees our brand for you know a local youth sport sponsorship over and over again, like Kyle said, is is you know the ultimate goal for driving traffic. And ultimately, again, like I said earlier, what where we push our our franchisees when it comes to local store marketing or grassroots marketing is being involved locally within those avenues, you know, charities, youth sports. local schools all those fall in line with with who we are

Jeremy Julian: Awesome. Kyle, I'm gonna ask, and again, you can tell me this doesn't happen, but I guess I've some of the most successful franchise groups and some of those most successful restaurant groups learn from each other. They'll learn from what's working in your store and and you're gonna help somebody else in a different community, and vice versa. I guess is there any story that that that you can share of something that you hadn't considered doing in your local community, or vice versa, something you were doing that you now are at a franchise conference or on a franchise advisory board going, hey, dude, you really need to do this, or hey, I hadn't thought about that. You know, let's go, let's go, go try this. I guess anything there that you think our listeners might be able to take away from hey, here's something that I hadn't considered, but this franchisee told me, or this is something I was doing that was really successful and I then pass it over to this other franchise group and they they did it and it it was successful.

Kyle Huck: So there's there's many things that we pick up from from other franchisees. We go to the Wing Summit, you know, every it's about a year and a half in between them. We go to it every year and we get to to mingle with all the franchisees. There's a lot of best practices, a lot of round tables, and we share all those kind of ideas, you know, what works here, what was working there. And again, you're you're absolutely correct. Some things may work in your market, may not work in another market. but we I mean, one thing that we do that's really cool. is student of the grading periods. So we take free kids' meals and we give them to the elementary schools and every kid that makes honor roll and or if a kid, if the school deems it necessary, if a kid does something great, helps out another student in a a really cool or special way, we give them autonomy to pass those out. But they pass out, you know, student of the grading periods to every kid that makes honor roll. and then the the course the kids are Super excited to come and and redeem those in the store. I believe that one, I was trying to remember, I think that one came from another franchisee. I don't remember if we did, or my sister-in-law, Missy, she does a really good job. She might have thought of that one, but but we share that stuff with all the franchisees, stuff that is successful for us and and for them. trying to think of a particular thing is a little tough off the spot, but I'm sure there's a lot because we do share that information back and forth and With other franchisees.

Jeremy Julian: Well, I love the kids one. And again, I said it, I've got four kids and oftentimes it's it's definitely my wife or my kids, you know. if either one of you guys are married, you get the whole like, what do you want for dinner? I don't care. And then you pick four different options and none of them work. But the minute the kids say something, it's like, okay, we'll go there because I got the Noveto rule. And so if you get the kids involved, I know that that's that's always key. one of the things that came over kind of in in you know the story that you guys had shared is The the the press release that you guys had done, Kyle, on kind of the hundred and forty thousand dollar, you know, community giveaway thing. and again, those who are watching on YouTube are probably g you know, they see Kyle, you know, nod his head and kind of chuckle. But tell me more about that. I'd love to hear more 'cause I think it's it's obviously a really significant sum of dollars and and would love to kind of just understand where did that come from and and what's going on there. Tell me a little bit more about that story.

Kyle Huck: So Wings Corporate reached out and said they wanted to do a franchise spotlight about some franchisees that really give back. And we've been a franchisee for a long time and we've done a lot of giving back in that. So I am also the accountant for our businesses. That's what my degree is in. And so I do all the accounting and everything. So I went through the books and I started adding up that number, and I was a little shocked, honestly. It was it was quite high. probably doesn't even include everything, if I'm honest. It probably it does not include all the wing nut bucks and the the different gift cards that we give out to the schools and that's not all accounted for in there. Those those hit our our books as discounts. They don't really hit as marketing. But as I was adding up that number to you know to kind of get that story for corporate you know to pass along I I All the different avenues that we have given back over the years, you know, and that's accumulation. That's been, you know, 11 years in Marietta and and and the nine in Caldwell and three in Belpri. So it's been an accumulation over all those years of doing that. But it just, you know, I kinda I said kind of said in the the one story that my motto is, you know, never say no, try to find a way to help, try to find a way to give back. you can get creative. Again, it doesn't have to be always giving cash. It can be giving coupons or or helping these different organizations you know, come up with a way to help them fundraise or whatever that also benefits the store. one of the big ways we give back all the time is our our organization does a lot of dine to donates. so we give back 15% for the entire day. So

Jeremy Julian: Yeah, so what does dine to donate? I I I think I'm familiar with it, but for those that aren't out there, 'cause again, I've got one elementary kid now now the others the other three are high school and college, but but one one elementary school kid. So I think I know what it is, but I'd love for you to make sure our listeners understand exactly what dine to donate means.

Kyle Huck: Absolutely. It's it's when we partner with an organization to fundraise for them. So maybe a school PTO or the the football program or a softball program, cheerleaders, we're we do, we're doing one for them here soon. they'll come to us and say, I would like to raise a little bit of money. And so what we do is we print a flyer, we give it to them, we pick a date with them that works for them. They advertise the event. So we give it to them, they share it on social media, they share it, they take it around. I I I tell them to take it to local businesses. We do it on to go. we do it on everything that that someone tells us is there for the event. And then I go through, I add up the receipts, and we donate 15% back to that organization. I think the most successful one we've ever done was around $900 give or take that we donated

Jeremy Julian: That's amazing.

Kyle Huck: to an organization. I and I tell them it's as successful as they make it. If they don't advertise it and push it and take the flyers around and do a little bit of footwork, it won't be very successful. But if they push it and get people to go eat and and do, they can raise a lot of money. And it's it's not that tough for them to do. You know, share it on social media and spread it around a little bit and they can raise some money real quick. So

Jeremy Julian: Well, I'm gonna throw one more at you because you're you get to be the accounting guy. Is I've heard from restaurant owners that are like, dude, this is so much work. They gotta go put extra buttons on the POS and are they really driving new traffic? I guess why continue to do it? Because it sounds like it's been successful for you guys. And and we I get four or five times a year because my kids are in sports and my kids are in school. So I'm very familiar with this like, Dad, we're going to XYZ restaurant tonight because I gotta I gotta give back to the school, which I think is great. And at the same time, I've also had restaurant operators go, dude, it's so much work and for what for what benefit? And I guess I'd love for you to say, I'm giving t you know, tens of thousands of dollars over the last eleven years to dine to Donate. Why continue to do it? Why do you think it's been so successful for you guys, not just you know, outside of what you've already kind of shared that says we are part of the local community?

Kyle Huck: I think it's good for a multitude of reasons. one of the first reasons is I I actually own several businesses, and as a policy, I think it's not necessarily good to just every time somebody comes by either say no, we don't want to help you, or just hand cash over every time. There's a lot of things that I will sponsor and I will do, but I can't do that for every organization. It's just not in the in the numbers, it's it's not feasible. this is a way for us to engage these organizations and these guests that doesn't necessarily hurt our pocketbook because they're bringing us extra business. I look at it again as an opportunity for me to engage those guests. in a again as part of the community, but they hand out the flyer. And again, maybe I had somebody that had a bad experience at Wings. And now all of a sudden they're like, you know what? My grandson organization is going to Wings, et cetera, tonight. And I'm going to go give it a chance. You know, at least they're trying to raise some money. and they come up there and it's our chance to shine again. And that's one thing we reiterate to the staff. Hey, dine to donate today. It's gonna be busy. This is our chance. This is our chance to potentially earn back business if we did mess up with somebody. And again, I know we're not perfect. So this is a great opportunity for us to earn someone's business back. And I will tell you, people will become fiercely loyal when you have messed up in the past and then you give them a good experience. They become fiercely loyal to you because of your improvement, your change, and your effort and how much you care. So it's that chance to build that customer base. and it's it's really successful. But again, the other one is I can't just donate cold hard cash to every organization that knocks on my door. It's not musical.

Jeremy Julian: Well, and it's a benefit to you guys 'cause typically when you're doing those things, they're on the shoulder days. It's the Tuesdays and Wednesday nights that might be slower. It's on the Sunday nights when you're typically slower. It's not on Friday night after the football game. You're not doing dine to donate because you're already full and you can't get another body in there, right?

Kyle Huck: You're exactly right. I I tell them all the time, they say, Well, what about doing a Friday night when it's busy? And I go, Well, we're already busy anyways. You're not going to get extra guests in there. So it's better to do it on a a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday when we're slower and you can pack the place and then you can really make some money because we can churn people through for you. So

Jeremy Julian: Mm-hmm. Yep.

Kyle Huck: yeah, they've been really successful for us.

Jeremy Julian: Yeah, and I I think way too many restaurants underutilize that capability. the underutilize the capability. I guess. Colton, do you guys support those efforts? I guess how how does corporate support those efforts just for those that may be considering wings as a as a franchise opportunity? Are you guys at a place where you guys have kind of a a playbook that you guys can help the the franchisees out on that? And or just kinda, hey, here's the learnings and here

Colton LeTourneau: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Jeremy Julian: here's how it goes.

Colton LeTourneau: yeah, we we absolutely support them. it's part of, you know, our onboarding marketing packet that we provide the franchisees. you know, like Kyle said, you know, I I lived this a little bit as well. I I used to do a lot of field marketing for our corporate locations and The ability to win back customers or eventually drive new customers through the Dine to Donate program is is awesome. and so, you know, like I said, so we we do support that from the corporate side as well. you know, we we provide them with the digital assets, we provide them with the flyers, and you know, give that back to the franchisee and they distribute that to the organization that they're working with. that's all done by our in-house marketing team. And we also, you know, can help push that for them as well, whether that's through their VIP email on social, or again, like I said, putting together the creative. But yeah, we we fully support it. it's been a big portion of our brand and who we are as as a company. and you know, giving back is actually one of our part of our core values. So it's been in our identity since since 1994 and we continue to push that and and push that vision.

Jeremy Julian: I I appreciate you sharing that 'cause I again I've I've worked with lots of restaurant friends across my thirty years in the business and it's not always that way. It's they're they're jumping into Canva doing it themselves and trying to figure it out on their own and not not understanding why it's not working. All right. I'm gonna get a little personal here as we're getting close to signing off. Kyle, w if if it was my first time to a wings, what should I get? And then what is your most odd wings? you know, and Colton to be ready, it's coming your way too, buddy. but what is your most odd thing? I everybody that I've ever talked to that's working in restaurant for more than five days has some oddity that they've figured out some I'm gonna combine these four things that aren't on the menu, but it's my go to when I'm when I want something something specific. And so you're chuckling because you know over eleven years you've figured out some weird ass stuff to make inside of y'all's kitchen. But but what is your kind of go to if I this is my very first time to wings, what what should I get? What kind of your signature items that you would say make sure that you you experience this while you're here?

Kyle Huck: I'm gonna give you two. Well, first of all, you have to try the wings. The bone and traditional wings are top-notch. it's part of our name and it's what we do. And if if you're going to wings, etc., even if you're getting a burger, get a wing kicker. Get some wings, and you gotta get the hot honey garlic sauce. It is my top to go to so it's my top go-to sauce right now. a lot of our sauces are fantastic. but if I have to get just one, it's it's hot honey garlic. The other is our burgers. I really like our burgers. Our burgers are fantastic. cowboy burger is is a go to. So very, very good. the weird thing on the menu that I make, they call they actually call Kyle's tots at my at Caldwell, so they would know what you're talking about.

Jeremy Julian: Okay. See, I knew I knew there was gonna be one, man. I knew there's always one, so sorry, I'll let you keep going.

Kyle Huck: No, you're fine. It's it's tater tots with our queso and pulled pork and then our barbecue sauce on it. And

Jeremy Julian: Gosh.

Kyle Huck: that blend, that that savory with that sweet, tangy barbecue, it's really good. So I've I've talked to corporate, actually had Chuck and Rob down not long ago and I I I fed it to

Jeremy Julian: You're like, hey, this might be on an LTO coming up soon. they just need to give you a namesake, even if it's in the fine print on the on the menu or on the LTO, right? That's awesome.

Kyle Huck: Yeah. So yeah.

Jeremy Julian: Colton, how would you answer that question? If it was the first time you'd ever been to a Wings, you know, what what is the thing that you make sure that it that people experience and then what is your you know, I've been in field marketing and I've had wings seven days in a row and I gotta come up with something wonky.

Colton LeTourneau: yeah. Yeah. So my go to, like Kyle said, obviously our are traditional traditional wings. but with our sweet chili cha cha sauce, it has to be my my favorite. it's it's my go to. I get it every time I go to wings. you can't go wrong. I think it it it's a flavor profile that a lot of people will enjoy. So that's my recommendation. You know, as as far as a an odd food or combination, I I'm pretty generic. pretty, you know, I stick to the menu items, but but you know, one of the things that might be slightly odd is I really enjoy our our tots with beer cheese. And it's not a huge you know differentiator than you know or something weird, but it's it's delicious and It's just a lot of calories, but but you can't beat it.

Jeremy Julian: That sounds amazing. now you guys are making me hungry. It's getting close to lunchtime here for me. And so I got one more appointment after this call before I gotta gotta go sneak and I'll go find some tots with some queso on top. how do people stay in touch? How do people learn more? Kind of where are you guys at? I guess I we didn't talk about kinda where you guys are at geographically. I know it's kinda, you know, in that area and I know you guys are looking to continue to expand and continue to grow. So I guess Colton, where would you have them go? Kind of where are you guys at and how would you have them engage more with the brand and then you know. I guess Kyle, what stores are you at most often? So people if they're in that region they can stop by and say hi.

Colton LeTourneau: Yeah, so customers can visit wings etc.com to find out. more in information in general, they can find their nearest location on there. we currently have eighty-three stores in fourteen states. and if you're out there looking for a franchise or you want to open up a franchise, you can visit wingsetc franchise dot com and you can find out a little bit more about the the franchising world and you can you can see where we're the markets are located that we're looking to expand.

Jeremy Julian: Awesome. And Kyle, where where do you hang out when you're when you're in the stores and if people were to want to s you know, stay connected with you?

Kyle Huck: So I am local to Caldwell. That's where my I actually live. So I'm at the Caldwell store most. but I do visit every store every week, at least once or twice a week. So usually Tuesdays is usually my my road trip day that I go visit and hang out in all the stores. but yeah, Caldwell's kind of my my home base.

Jeremy Julian: Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank guys for telling the story. Kyle, thank you for for sharing some of your insights as to what what has helped you guys be successful. Maybe we'll have to have a second podcast on how you work with family every day, because I'm sure there's lots of people out there that could learn something from you guys and how you've been successful there too. I'm sure. So

Kyle Huck: Yeah.

Jeremy Julian: and thank you guys for continuing to to do what you do. to our listeners, guys, like I said at the onset, I know you guys got lots of choices. So thank you for hanging out. If you haven't already subscribed, please do so and make it a great day.