NEWS - Retail & Shopping Centers

By Lou Phelps, SBJ Staff

Oct 17, 2011 – The difficult U.S. economy has led to a true sense of entrepreneurship, including a number of exciting examples in the Savannah area. Deb and Jeremy Serls are another example.  The Serls will open the Savannah area’s first Wing Zone restaurant in Savannah on Nov. 5 at 1100 Eisenhower Dr. in the Eisenhower Plaza.  To create some excitement for their opening day, the first 25 customers through the door will win free wings for a year.

The Serl’s Wing Zone franchise store will be the franchise company’s first ‘ground-up’ restaurant, versus going into existing facilities, and the Serls will restaurant include drive-thru, take-out and delivery service.

The Serl’s say that they are both life-long fans of wings, and they decided to invest in a franchise after Jeremy was laid off from his job with the Hershey Company.  Buying into a franchise, in and of itself, is not unusual.  But the Serls hope their new venture will work because they are expanding on the company’s products strengths by adding a  more diversified store approach in Savannah.

Neither had any idea how to open a wing restaurant, but are banking on their diverse life experiences – Deb is from New Zealand and the couple met in Australia – to help them find success with the Wing Zone’s franchise model. 

When founders Matt Friedman and Adam Scott first created Wing Zone in 1991, they envisioned revolutionizing the Buffalo Chicken Wing with flavor and innovation. Today, with nearly 100 locations in the United States, internationally and on military bases, the brand has continued its evolution by producing big ideas. This includes the Savannah location that is the company’s first ground-up drive-thru, take-out and delivery location, purchasing and renovating an existing former drive-thru coffee store in the Eisenhower Plaza.

The company expects over a hundred people to camp out for the 11 a.m. grand opening on Nov. 5.  In addition to the free food giveaway, what the company call ‘Flavorholics’ can compete in the Wing Zone’s ‘Nuclear Challenge’ with a chance to win great prizes.

“When we first became interested in owning a Wing Zone, we did so because of its robust menu and flavor,” said Jeremy. “When we learned of the opportunity to be a trailblazer and open the first unit of its kind – we were honored.”

Friedman and Scott created the chain at their University of Florida fraternity kitchen, where they cooked up wings and homemade sauces and delivered the award winning Buffalo chicken wings all over the campus. Soon thereafter, the founders began expanding their concept, later settling on Atlanta to headquarter their franchising efforts.

“We are on a mission to treat millions to our product, and Jeremy and Deborah are the perfect franchise partners to help us do so,” Friedman said.

Wing Zone’s menu offers 15 unique flavors of fresh, cooked-to-order wings.  In addition, Wing Zone offers salads, grilled sandwiches, burgers and a variety of appetizers such as: chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, battered mushrooms, onion rings and cheese fries.