Wing Zone Featured on FoodChannel.com

Wing Zone was recently featured on FoodChannel.com in an article called “One-Time Campus Chicken Wing Operation Now Going Global.” Written by Bill Bailey, senior editor at Food Channel, he explores Wing Zone since its inception by interviewing Matt Friedman and Adam Scott, co-Founders of the Atlanta-based franchise. They discuss starting Wing Zone in their frat house kitchen to now taking the brand globally and expanding in Panama, Japan and the Bahamas. Wing Zone is also focused on growing throughout the U.S. through franchising opportunities. A portion of the article is included below and the article can be read in its entirety by clicking here.

One-Time Campus Chicken Wing Operation Now Going Global
Bill Bailey

Forty-five years after Teressa Belissimo invented Buffalo Wings at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, N.Y., chicken wings remain as popular as ever—especially during football/tailgating season. Teressa’s simple sauce recipe—basically, three parts Frank’s RedHot and two parts butter—started a wings explosion.

Today there are a number of restaurant chains that specialize in wings, among them are Buffalo Wild Wings, Wingstop, and Wing Zone.

We recently had a chance to visit with the founders of the Atlanta-based Wing Zone chain, Adam Scott, 36, and Matt Friedman, 39, who began their chicken wing odyssey back in 1993. The pair were fraternity brothers at the University of Florida, majoring in Business/Finance with passion for two things: owning their own business and chicken wings.

Friedman says they had next to no experience in the restaurant business. “We were just wing fanatics,” he says. Growing up on New York’s Long Island and making frequent visits upstate to visit relatives, Friedman knew what authentic Buffalo Wings should taste like. Soon the two frat brothers were making wings and selling them like mad to fellow students on the Gainesville campus. “We worked hard to duplicate the flavor of the original buffalo wing,” Friedman says. “The deep fry cooking process—cooking them up crispy—the classic spicy sauce flavor, with the blue cheese on the side.” He says it’s all about the wrist action, flipping the wings around in the bowl of sauce to get good coverage. “People often use too much arm action,” Friedman adds.

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