This is the complete transcript of Restaurant Technology Guys Ep. 358 — Why This Franchisee Gave Back $141K, with Kyle Huck and Colton LeTourneau of Wings Etc. The episode page carries the summary, takeaways and players; this page carries the full conversation.
Kyle Huck is a multi-unit Wings Etc. franchise owner in southeastern Ohio, in business with his brother Chad, his sister-in-law Missy and his wife Kristen. They opened Marietta in August 2015, Caldwell in January 2018 and Belpre in March 2023. Colton LeTourneau is Senior Director of Marketing for Wings Etc., a sports bar brand founded by Jim Weaver in 1994 and headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The number that started this conversation: when corporate asked Kyle for a franchisee spotlight on community giving, he went into the books — he is the accountant for the family’s businesses — and added up $141,191.91. He says it is probably light, because Wing Nut Bucks and school gift cards post as discounts rather than marketing.
What follows is the operator’s case for treating that spend as marketing rather than charity: why he sponsors the student section even though he is the only sports bar in town, how Dine-To-Donate works and why it belongs on a Tuesday, what corporate does to enable local store marketing without losing the brand, and where the best ideas actually come from. Plus what to order the first time you walk in.
Jump to a section
- Meet a Franchisee and His Franchisor (0:01)
- The Concept: Two Rooms Under One Roof (2:32)
- Finding Wings Etc. Through a Google Search (4:07)
- Building a Local Pub Feel Inside a National Brand (6:31)
- Why Community Involvement Is the Whole Strategy (8:18)
- “I’m the Only Sports Bar in Town” — Why Write the Check? (11:24)
- More Than Schools: Fairs, Raffles and Wing Nut Bucks (13:51)
- How Corporate Sets the Lane for Local Store Marketing (15:26)
- What Franchisees Learn From Each Other (18:05)
- Adding Up Eleven Years: The $141,000 Number (20:25)
- What a Dine-To-Donate Actually Is (23:02)
- Is It Worth the Labor? The Second-Chance Argument (24:38)
- Run It on the Shoulder Days (27:20)
- How Corporate Supports Dine-To-Donate (27:59)
- What to Order, and the Off-Menu Builds (29:43)
- Where to Find Wings Etc. (33:21)
Meet a Franchisee and His Franchisor (0:01)
Jeremy Julian (0:01): Welcome back to the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast. I thank everyone out there for joining us. As I like to say each and every time, I know you guys have got lots of choices, so I am grateful that you get to hang out with us this week. Today I am joined by — these are some of my favorite episodes, because I’ve got a brand that’s really making a difference, not only in their community but kind of in their family. And so I’m excited to have Kyle share a little bit about what they’ve been doing. And then we’ve also got Colton on the episode, who works for the brand itself, and we can talk about how they’ve been collaborating to tell the story out there.
Jeremy Julian (0:30): But Kyle, why don’t you introduce yourself real quick? I know you get to run operations and get to run a brand kind of coming up through the family. And for you guys — I didn’t even share this before we hit go — I also work in a family business, so that’s always fun. Fun stories there. We can probably share war stories. But why don’t you introduce yourself, and then we can talk a little bit about the brand that you get the privilege of leading.
Kyle Huck (0:56): 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. We opened our first Wings 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 (1:27): Awesome. Awesome. Colt, why don’t you introduce yourself real quick? I know you get a chance to work for Wings Etc. corporate. And so kind of what do you get the privilege of doing for the brand?
Colton LeTourneau (1:36): Yeah, again, thanks for having us, Jeremy. My name is Colt LeTourneau. I’m the Senior Director of Marketing for Wings Etc. With marketing comes a lot of things, right? But pretty much everything under the sun. My main focus though is supporting our franchisees and really the brand. So building outbound marketing campaigns that drive traffic to our stores, and 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 our competitors. So this world is crazy. The restaurant industry is ever changing and very tough. So we’re always doing what we can to put our best foot forward.
The Concept: Two Rooms Under One Roof (2:32)
Jeremy Julian (2:32): I love that. So you don’t just sit around on social media just posting stuff all day long. Obviously I’m teasing. But I know you guys are, I guess, a relatively decent sized chain. Kyle, for those that haven’t been to a Wings Etc. — I was sharing with our guests before we hit record that I personally got a chance to go to one of the stores outside of Columbus a couple of years back. But for those that are not familiar, you guys are just under a hundred restaurants, it looks like when I look on the website. So you’re not a Wingstop with six, seven hundred, twelve hundred stores, but obviously sizable enough that you’ve gotten 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 (3:19): So the concept is sports bar. I mean, it’s great chicken, great wings and great burgers. Really good food. Overall it’s kind of that bar food experience. So we have a family dining side and we also kind of have the bar dining side where we have high tops, and we differentiate that in between our restaurants so guests can get that experience however they want to enjoy the place. Thirty-plus TVs on the walls and really enjoying the sports experience. Jukebox playing — the guests can select the songs, at least in my stores; it’s not in every store. And that good casual dining experience with really good food.
Finding Wings Etc. Through a Google Search (4:07)
Kyle Huck (4:07): So eleven years ago what drew me to Wings was a lack of restaurant representation in our area. And I decided to venture into the restaurant business, and I found Wings online. Ironically enough, just a Google search located Wings. And I knew some people — they were based in Indiana and I knew some family over there — and I called, 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 eleven years ago, and then like I said, then we opened Caldwell and then Belpre.
Kyle Huck (5:00): We’ve also — I feel honored — we’ve inspired a few other franchisees in the area. There’s two stores in West Virginia. We kind of have five of us right down here in our area. There’s another group that’s been — they do a fantastic job — and they’ve got a store in Vienna and St. Marys, West Virginia. So we kind of have a little Wings family down here that’s sprouted. So it’s been really good. It’s been an awesome experience. And as far as I’m concerned, working with corporate, they’re a great group of people and we’ve been very fortunate to get into Wings.
Jeremy Julian (5:35): Yeah, it’s always fun when I’ve got the franchisees that actually like corporate, because — I know this is one of your first brands there, Kyle — but it’s not always the case that way, man. When I get a franchisor and a franchisee saying, hey, they’ll get on a phone call together and it’s 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 really shows. And one of the things that I’m going to pass over to Colton here in a second is this whole idea of: when done well, both sides can be successful. And I love that.
Building a Local Pub Feel Inside a National Brand (6:31)
Jeremy Julian (6:02): And I know we’re going to talk about how do you tell the story. But Colton, real quick — one of the things 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 have a drink and sit in the sports bar area. And then there’s other times that 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. It’s hard enough to get my teenagers to talk to me regardless, nonetheless when you can’t hear over the sound of the TV.
Jeremy Julian (6:31): I guess talk to me about how you tell that story from a brand perspective. Because 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’d love to hear how do you think about that when you’re crafting messaging and putting it out into the world.
Colton LeTourneau (6:56): Yeah, I mean, since 1994 when the brand originally started, the whole goal that Jim Weaver, our founder, had in mind was to create a local sports bar feel and presence in the community. And years later it’s become what it’s become. But 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 it feels like you’re in your local community. We give them the ability to hang local decor and hang signage that represents the towns that the location is in. And so it really just strengthens the brand and creates loyal guests who feel seen in our restaurants.
Colton LeTourneau (7:54): They are going in there and seeing local memorabilia and apparel. And it’s not overly intimidating or overly corporate when you walk into our restaurants. But that was again the goal that Jim had: how can I make this a pub, a local pub feel, but also still have that national brand identity?
Why Community Involvement Is the Whole Strategy (8:18)
Jeremy Julian (8:18): Yeah. And again, as a consumer, I’ve only been into one store, but I definitely felt that. Kyle, I know that you guys have done quite a bit to double down on that local community involvement. I’d love for you to talk a little bit about that, because that was one of the things that intrigued me about the pitch when you guys wanted to come on — just how much you guys have intentionally done in partnering with corporate and even on your local store side to be part of the community.
Jeremy Julian (8:45): We all felt it in COVID when you couldn’t go into restaurants, and it was a real struggle, because you didn’t realize how much — and again, this is my entire life, I’ve spent my entire career and really my entire life working in and around restaurants — you don’t realize how much you use them to celebrate and you use them to do lots of different things as families and as businesses. And you guys have done a really, really good job of making that first in your go-to-market. I’d love for you to talk a little bit about how you’ve done that and where did all that even really come from?
Kyle Huck (9:21): So being involved in the local community as a small-town local business owner is probably one of the most important things that we can do. People want to feel a part of the businesses. They want to feel like what they do, what they say, where they eat, where they spend their dollars matters. And it does.
Kyle Huck (9:45): So when you are part of the community and you engage with them 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 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.
Kyle Huck (10:14): So no student pays to get into a sporting event at the high school for the whole year, to every sporting event — the businesses take care of that. But being involved in that community, the community members see that and then they patronize your business, and it’s cyclical. It’s not just, you know, we give back to give back — we want to give back, we want to be part of the community — but it also does buy you the good graces of the community.
Kyle Huck (10:41): And I think it’s important too from a strategic point, from a business owner, because we are far from perfect. I will tell you right now, 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. So I felt that that’s been very good.
Kyle Huck (11:10): And a lot of the community members — 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 want to see the restaurant succeed.
“I’m the Only Sports Bar in Town” — Why Write the Check? (11:24)
Jeremy Julian (11:24): Well, what would you say to those restaurant operators that say, I’m the only sports bar in town, so they’re going to come to me regardless of whether I sponsor those kids? And again, I hear it from owners out there from time to time. And before I keep going and let you answer that question — funny enough, my son played in the Northwoods League down in Richmond, Indiana, just on the other side of the Ohio-Indiana border this summer. He was playing collegiate baseball up there. And in Richmond, small little town in Indiana, there was a ton of the restaurants that were — if he showed up with his Richmond ID, he got a free short stack at IHOP, or he got this or he got that.
Jeremy Julian (11:52): And he not only patronized it, but when I went up to watch him play, it was like, dude, we’re going to go here — not just because I get this, but because these guys take care of me. So I’d love for you to tell that story that says why. If you’re the only place in town that’s going to be the sports bar, everybody’s going to go there before and after the games to have a beer and watch a game — why be that forward? Why do you think it’s so important to invest not only your money but your time?
Kyle Huck (12:28): I mean, the big reason again is — well, we are the only sports bar in town. So…
Jeremy Julian (12:33): Yeah. So you would have an owner say, why write that check for five hundred bucks? They’re gonna come anyway. And the kids are going to 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 your belief is, and for those that are watching on video, we’re all kind of chuckling about it — but I think it’s a true story that sometimes it happens.
Kyle Huck (12:51): No, you’re not wrong, but at the same time — yes, they are going to go. And I agree 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 — people actually, I’ll be in the stands and I’ll hear people saying, I’m going to leave now and go get us a table. I’m going to leave now and go get us a table. But would as many go?
Kyle Huck (13:22): Probably not. There’s more people that go. Our names are on the banner that’s on the field. It says silver sponsor. They’re saying it over the loudspeakers — Wings Etc., silver sponsor, thanks for helping all the students get in free to the game. And it’s that continual message over and over and over again. And that’s the way marketing works: you want your name in the forefront of their mind over and over again. Not just for that circumstance, but —
Kyle Huck (13:51): What happens next Tuesday night when everybody’s late getting home and they go, we need to get some food? Let’s just order takeout at Wings. We’ll swing by and pick up some takeout, because our name is on the forefront of their brain. So it happens all the time, all week — not just that Friday night after the ballgame or whatever day that happens to be.
More Than Schools: Fairs, Raffles and Wing Nut Bucks (13:51)
Kyle Huck (14:21): But we do more than just the schools. We do the Dine-To-Donates. We support the local fair — that’s a big one every year. We buy animals at the fair for the kids. We donate Wing Nut Bucks usually to just about any benefit that asks. I usually don’t do a lot of cash for benefits, but if they’re having a country store or a drawing, we’ll give them Wing Nut Bucks where people can come back to Wings and redeem them 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.
Kyle Huck (14:50): I don’t mind giving Wing Nut Bucks to different benefits and stuff. There’s so many all the time and you want to help everybody, but I can’t give cash to all of that. But if I give them Wing Nut Bucks and they bring them back into the store and redeem them, they’re probably bringing people with them. They’re probably having a couple of drinks and they’re spending, having a good time. And again, I also look at it as a potential marketing campaign. Somebody could win that raffle, win that Wing Nut Buck, that maybe we messed up on.
Kyle Huck (15:19): And maybe now we get a second chance, right? There’s all kinds of positive that you can spin from it.
How Corporate Sets the Lane for Local Store Marketing (15:26)
Jeremy Julian (15:26): 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. We’ve just listened to Kyle talk about some of the ways that he considers it. As a corporate group, you want to enable your franchisees to be successful, and at the same time you don’t necessarily want them always going out and supporting things that maybe don’t fit the brand image or don’t do what you want them to do. And so there’s always a fine line of — are they going too far with local store marketing?
Jeremy Julian (15:56): How do you manage it? How do you get attribution? How do you get into the point of sale? I’d love to talk about what have you set in place and 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 in Indiana is doing, that’s different than the store in Columbus is doing. So I’d love for you to talk about how you consider local store marketing, and how do you give autonomy enough to be able to be part of the community and serve them, but also keep some level of consistency for corporate to make sure that you understand what’s going on.
Colton LeTourneau (16:31): Yeah. So Kyle kind of touched on it — as a sports bar, being actively involved in our communities, especially with our local high schools, just falls well in line with our brand. Local sports, anything that we can do to be involved with them, is what we encourage our franchisees to be a part of.
Colton LeTourneau (17:00): In addition to that, we really try to push them towards local youth sports or charities or community events. Those all fall in line with our brand. And again, sponsoring things that can build trust within the community from a brand perspective — the deeper our roots are within a community through those avenues, again, only builds trust.
Colton LeTourneau (17:30): Someone who sees our brand for a local youth sport sponsorship over and over again, like Kyle said, is the ultimate goal for driving traffic. And ultimately, like I said earlier, where we push our franchisees when it comes to local store marketing or grassroots marketing is being involved locally within those avenues — charities, youth sports, local schools. Those all fall in line with who we are.
What Franchisees Learn From Each Other (18:05)
Jeremy Julian (18:05): Awesome. Kyle, I’m going to ask — and again, you can tell me this doesn’t happen — but some of the most successful franchise groups and some of the most successful restaurant groups learn from each other. They’ll learn from what’s working in your store, and you’re going to help somebody else in a different community, and vice versa.
Jeremy Julian (18:23): Is there any story 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? Anything there that you think our listeners might be able to take away?
Kyle Huck (18:57): So there’s many things that we pick up from other franchisees. We go to the Wing Summit — it’s about a year and a half in between them. We go to it every year and we get to mingle with all the franchisees. There’s a lot of best practices, a lot of round tables, and we share all those kinds of ideas: what works here, what was working there. And again, you’re absolutely correct — some things may work in your market, may not work in another market. But one thing that we do that’s really cool —
Kyle Huck (19:27): — is Student of the Grading Period. So we take free kids’ meals and we give them to the elementary schools, and every kid that makes honor roll — or if the school deems it necessary, if a kid does something great, helps out another student in a really cool or special way — we give them autonomy to pass those out. But they pass out Student of the Grading Period to every kid that makes honor roll.
Kyle Huck (19:54): And of course the kids are super excited to come and redeem those in the store. I was trying to remember — I think that one came from another franchisee. I don’t remember, or my sister-in-law Missy, she does a really good job, she might have thought of that one. But we share that stuff with all the franchisees, stuff that is successful for us 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 with other franchisees.
Jeremy Julian (20:25): Well, I love the kids one. And again, I’ve got four kids and oftentimes it’s definitely my wife or my kids. If either one of you guys are married, you get the whole “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 no-veto rule. And so if you get the kids involved, I know that that’s always key.
Adding Up Eleven Years: The $141,000 Number (20:25)
Jeremy Julian (20:50): One of the things that came over in the story that you guys had shared is the press release that you had done, Kyle, on the hundred and forty thousand dollar community giveback. And again, those who are watching on YouTube probably see Kyle nod his head and chuckle. But tell me more about that. I’d love to hear more, because it’s obviously a really significant sum of dollars, and I’d love to understand where did that come from and what’s going on there.
Kyle Huck (21:14): 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. 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 quite high.
Kyle Huck (21:44): It probably doesn’t even include everything, if I’m honest. It does not include all the Wing Nut Bucks and the different gift cards that we give out to the schools — that’s not all accounted for in there. Those hit our books as discounts. They don’t really hit as marketing. But as I was adding up that number to get that story for corporate —
Kyle Huck (22:12): — all the different avenues that we have given back over the years, and that’s accumulation. That’s been eleven years in Marietta and the nine in Caldwell and three in Belpre. So it’s been an accumulation over all those years of doing that. But I kind of said in the one story that my motto is: 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 helping these different organizations 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 organization does a lot of Dine-To-Donates. So we give back 15% for the entire day.
What a Dine-To-Donate Actually Is (23:02)
Jeremy Julian (23:02): So what is Dine-To-Donate? I think I’m familiar with it, but for those that aren’t out there — again, I’ve got one elementary kid now; the other three are high school and college, but 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 (23:20): Absolutely. It’s when we partner with an organization to fundraise for them. So maybe a school PTO or the football program or a softball program, cheerleaders — 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.
Kyle Huck (23:48): So we give it to them, they share it on social media, they take it around — I tell them to take it to local businesses. We do it on to-go. We do it on everything 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 to an organization.
Kyle Huck (24:15): 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, they can raise a lot of money. And it’s not that tough for them to do. Share it on social media and spread it around a little bit and they can raise some money real quick.
Is It Worth the Labor? The Second-Chance Argument (24:38)
Jeremy Julian (24:38): Well, I’m going to throw one more at you because you get to be the accounting guy. I’ve heard from restaurant owners that are like, dude, this is so much work. They’ve got to 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 we 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: Dad, we’re going to XYZ restaurant tonight because I’ve got to give back to the school, which I think is great.
Jeremy Julian (25:06): And at the same time, I’ve also had restaurant operators go, dude, it’s so much work, and for what benefit? So I’d love for you to say — I’m giving 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, outside of what you’ve already shared that says we are part of the local community?
Kyle Huck (25:27): I think it’s good for a multitude of reasons. One of the first reasons is 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 numbers, it’s not feasible.
Kyle Huck (25:55): 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 — again as part of the community — but they hand out the flyer.
Kyle Huck (26:20): 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’s organization is going to Wings Etc. tonight. And I’m going to go give it a chance. 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 going to 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.
Kyle Huck (26:50): 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 really successful. But again, the other one is I can’t just donate cold hard cash to every organization that knocks on my door.
Run It on the Shoulder Days (27:20)
Jeremy Julian (27:20): Well, and it’s a benefit to you guys, because 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 (27:35): You’re exactly right. 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 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 yeah, they’ve been really successful for us.
How Corporate Supports Dine-To-Donate (27:59)
Jeremy Julian (27:59): Yeah, and I think way too many restaurants underutilize that capability. Colton, do you guys support those efforts? How does corporate support those efforts, just for those that may be considering Wings as a franchise opportunity? Are you at a place where you have a playbook that you can help the franchisees out on that? Or just, hey, here’s the learnings and here’s how it goes.
Colton LeTourneau (28:19): Yeah, absolutely. We absolutely support them. It’s part of our onboarding marketing packet that we provide the franchisees. Like Kyle said, I lived this a little bit as well — I used to do a lot of field marketing for our corporate locations.
Colton LeTourneau (28:44): The ability to win back customers or eventually drive new customers through the Dine-To-Donate program is awesome. And so we do support that from the corporate side as well. We provide them with the digital assets, we provide them with the flyers, and 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.
Colton LeTourneau (29:14): And we also can help push that for them as well, whether that’s through their VIP email, on social, or again, putting together the creative. But yeah, we fully support it. It’s been a big portion of our brand and who we are as a company. And giving back is actually part of our core values. So it’s been in our identity since 1994 and we continue to push that vision.
Jeremy Julian (29:43): I appreciate you sharing that, because I’ve worked with lots of restaurant friends across my thirty years in the business and it’s not always that way. They’re jumping into Canva doing it themselves and trying to figure it out on their own and not understanding why it’s not working.
What to Order, and the Off-Menu Builds (29:43)
Jeremy Julian (29:43): All right, I’m going to get a little personal here as we’re getting close to signing off. Kyle, if it was my first time to a Wings, what should I get? And then what is your most odd Wings — and Colton, be ready, it’s coming your way too, buddy. Everybody that I’ve ever talked to that’s worked in a restaurant for more than five days has some oddity that they’ve figured out, some “I’m going to combine these four things that aren’t on the menu,” but it’s my go-to when I want something specific. So you’re chuckling, because over eleven years you’ve figured out some weird stuff to make inside of y’all’s kitchen. But what is your go-to if this is my very first time to Wings? What are your signature items that you would say make sure that you experience this while you’re here?
Kyle Huck (30:40): I’m going to give you two. Well, first of all, you have to try the wings. The bone-in traditional wings are top-notch. It’s part of our name and it’s what we do. And if you’re going to Wings Etc., even if you’re getting a burger, get a wing kicker. Get some wings, and you’ve got to get the hot honey garlic sauce. It is my top go-to sauce right now. A lot of our sauces are fantastic, but if I have to get just one, it’s hot honey garlic.
Kyle Huck (31:08): The other is our burgers. I really like our burgers. Our burgers are fantastic. Cowboy burger is a go-to. So very, very good. The weird thing on the menu that I make — they actually call them Kyle’s Tots at my Caldwell store, so they would know what you’re talking about.
Jeremy Julian (31:25): Okay. See, I knew there was going to be one, man. I knew there’s always one. Sorry, I’ll let you keep going.
Kyle Huck (31:31): No, you’re fine. It’s tater tots with our queso and pulled pork and then our barbecue sauce on it. And that blend, that savory with that sweet, tangy barbecue — it’s really good. So I’ve talked to corporate, actually had Chuck and Rob down not long ago and I fed it to them.
Jeremy Julian (31:55): 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 menu or on the LTO, right? That’s awesome. Colton, how would you answer that question? If it was the first time you’d ever been to a Wings, what is the thing that you make sure that people experience, and then what is your — I’ve been in field marketing and I’ve had wings seven days in a row and I’ve got to come up with something wonky?
Colton LeTourneau (32:20): Yeah. So my go-to, like Kyle said, obviously our traditional wings — but with our sweet chili cha cha sauce, it has to be my favorite. It’s my go-to. I get it every time I go to Wings. You can’t go wrong. I think it’s a flavor profile that a lot of people will enjoy. So that’s my recommendation.
Colton LeTourneau (32:48): As far as an odd food or combination, I’m pretty generic. I stick to the menu items. But one of the things that might be slightly odd is I really enjoy our tots with beer cheese. And it’s not a huge differentiator or something weird, but it’s delicious. It’s just a lot of calories, but you can’t beat it.
Where to Find Wings Etc. (33:21)
Jeremy Julian (33:21): That sounds amazing. Now you guys are making me hungry. It’s getting close to lunchtime here for me. So I’ve got one more appointment after this call before I’ve got to go sneak off and find some tots with some queso on top. How do people stay in touch? How do people learn more? We didn’t talk about where you guys are at geographically. I know you’re looking to continue to expand and continue to grow. So Colton, where would you have them go — where are you at, and how would you have them engage more with the brand? And Kyle, what stores are you at most often, so people in that region can stop by and say hi?
Colton LeTourneau (33:57): Yeah, so customers can visit wingsetc.com to find out more 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 wingsetcfranchise.com and you can find out a little bit more about the franchising world, and you can see where the markets are located that we’re looking to expand.
Jeremy Julian (34:31): Awesome. And Kyle, where do you hang out when you’re in the stores, and if people were to want to stay connected with you?
Kyle Huck (34:38): So I am local to Caldwell — that’s where 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 my road trip day that I go visit and hang out in all the stores. But yeah, Caldwell’s kind of my home base.
Jeremy Julian (35:02): Awesome. Well, thank you guys for telling the story. Kyle, thank you for sharing some of your insights as to 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 and how you’ve been successful there too. And thank you guys for continuing 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.
Listen to this episode, see the takeaways and find the players on the episode page: Why This Franchisee Gave Back $141K — Kyle Huck, Wings Etc. | RTG Ep. 358.
