By CultureBanx Team
- Wingstop’s new brand “Thighstop” is an online restaurant only available for pickup and delivery via DoorDash
- Sales at Wingstop hit $71 million in Q1, up 28% year-over-year
Wingstop (WING -0.55%) hopes to score the same success with chicken thighs that it experienced with wings, via a new brand called “Thighstop.” Minority owned private equity and consulting firm, Corlex Capital is partnering with Prospect Capital Restaurants to acquire 10 Wingstop locations. With hip hop artists, athletes and private equity all betting big on Wingstop as sales hit $71 million in Q1, up 28% year-over-year, will Thighstop receive the same type of love?
Why This Matters: The new concept trades chicken wings for thighs and is an online restaurant only available for pickup and delivery via DoorDash. We all know the hip hop mogul Rick Ross loves his lemon pepper wings and is an owner of at least 10 Wingstop locations. Also, NFL All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman is a chicken boss, with two Wingstop franchises that he opened in Seattle. Even former NBA player Trevor Ariza opened a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Los Angeles.
“We think thighs are the most under-appreciated piece of the chicken, left at the bottom of the bucket. That’s just not fair,” CEO Charlie Morrison told Yahoo Finance.
Bone-in and boneless thighs tossed in Wingstop’s signature sauces, plus sides like fries and rolls. The real opportunity is optimizing its supply chain by buying the whole bird, giving each part of the chicken its “rightful place in the center of the plate.”
A major reason for the success of restaurant chains like Wingstop have to do with the experiences offered that fall between a traditional full-service restaurant, and a familiar fast food establishment that appeals to everyday people, hip-hop artists and athletes alike. Not to mention, this is not a “chicken” move, either by Corlex Capital because sales of the fast casual chain have been skyrocketing. Wingstop reported that system wide sales increased 21.9% to $372 million in 2020.
Situational Awareness: During the pandemic there was a 7% increase in chicken wing demand. If you can prove liquid assets of at least $600,000, you too could own a Wingstop, though it doesn’t seem like Thighstop will be franchised out anytime soon.
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