Wings and RingsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Wings and Rings franchise requires a total initial investment of $483K – $2.0M, including a $40K franchise fee. Per the 2023 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.4M[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2023 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $483K – $2.0M
- 32nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- 23rd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 62
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchised units fell from 56 to 54 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
21% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $483K – $2.0M including a $40K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $2.4M/year (median $2.5M), with an estimated 21% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 55/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Buffalo Wings & Rings, LLC
- Incorporated in
- OH
- HQ
- 396 Wards Corner Road, Loveland, OH 45140
- Auditor
- RSM US LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $19.9M
- vs $20.4M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- of Wings and Rings
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Wings and Rings franchisees operate casual dining restaurants specializing in chicken wings and appetizers, typically featuring full-service or counter-service models with alcohol service. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staff supervision, customer service, and local marketing while paying up to 5% royalties on net sales.
- CEO
- Nader Masadeh
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 1984
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 13
FDD Item 7 · 2023 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $0 | $40K | |
| Building/Leasehold Improvements | $564K | $821K | |
| Furniture, Fixture & Equipment | $349K | $452K | |
| Point of Sale (POS) System | $4K | $5K | |
| Signage | $1K | $38K | |
| Television & Related Equipment | $150K | $180K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $33K | $56K | |
| Training (Travel, living expenses & in-store training) | $12K | $17K | |
| Pre-Opening Manager Salaries (3 month) & Hourly Associate (1.5 weeks) | $6K | $9K | |
| Professional Fees | $31K | $50K | |
| Alcoholic Beverage License | $1K | $6K | |
| Insurance | $13K | $40K | |
| Opening Inventory | $35K | $36K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $10K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $50K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.3M | $1.9M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$194K
8.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
15%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $483K – $2.0M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $100K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Up to 5% of Net Sales
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $900 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.5M
- Avg ebitda
- $256K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 20.6%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 16 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $813K→$3.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.9M→$3.4M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2022
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Wings and Rings Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 62
- Opened
- 12
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 14
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 22.6%
- Company-owned
- 8
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 87%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 39.4%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -3.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -3.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 0.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 82.4%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 0.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 64
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Wings and Rings presents CAUTION-level risk due to contracting unit base, active litigation across multiple domains, and undisclosed franchisor financial health, despite reasonable unit economics for smaller investments.
Litigation (Item 3)
3 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $220,969
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · RSM US LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 3.6% YoY (62 units) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
- 02HIGHThree active litigation cases including royalty disputes, dram shop liability, and internal ownership conflicts signal governance/operational issues
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — unclear if franchisor has disclosed financial distress or viability concerns
- 04MINORHigh investment ceiling ($1.99M) with modest average net income ($256K) yields 12.8% ROI at best case, concerning for larger investments
- 05MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed, making revenue/income claims unverifiable
- 06MINORDram shop liability case (Jaime Valdez) creates alcohol service risk exposure for franchisees
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Driving distance radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 25 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
3 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 14 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 127 hrs
- Training location
- Corporate training center and franchise location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 136 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- POS Management System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: POS Management System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
72 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Wings and Rings · FDD (2023) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Wings and Rings franchise?
The total investment to open a Wings and Rings franchise ranges from $483K – $2.0M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Wings and Rings franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Wings and Rings FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.4M. The median is $2.5M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Wings and Rings's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Wings and Rings (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Wings and Rings franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Wings and Rings has 62 total units in the United States, including 56 franchised units and 8 company-owned units. 12 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Wings and Rings a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Wings and Rings as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 55 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.