From the Chairman

The start of the college and pro football seasons kicks off a busier time for our Buffalo Wild Wings® sports bars. A new season always brings fans together to watch their teams begin what they hope will be a championship run. Baseball’s playoffs and the start of the NBA and NHL seasons are just ahead too, providing a bonanza of sports-viewing opportunities.

While we usually get busier in our BWW® sports bars as we move into autumn, Franchise Business Services (FBS) has remained busy throughout the summer with activities designed to help improve our businesses.

Of course, many of you attended the FBS Summit in early August at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It was wonderful to see everyone after nearly two years since our last systemwide meeting! We had an agenda full of information that should be helpful to each of us as we look to continue recovery from the pandemic and improve our businesses.

Presentations from members of our board of directors focused on the issues of pay equity and legal trends and lawsuits in the BWW system, and we also had an update from Misty Chally, our vice president of legislative affairs. We’re fortunate to have people in our organization like Misty, Roz Mallet, Jim Bitzonis and Mark Jones as resources to call upon on topics like these.

BWW President Lyle Tick updated us on the latest information from Inspire Brands, including some good news on the state of economic recovery, with same store sales comparisons from before the pandemic showing growth. He also discussed the brand’s priorities for the months to come.

The Summit included presentations from outside attorneys Hank Alford and Bruce Sarchet about other legal issues critical to our business, and keynote speaker Scott Burrows provided an inspirational message about overcoming unexpected setbacks. This issue of The SCORE has photos of all the informative and fun activities.

Of course, that’s not all that’s been happening. On Sept. 14, FBS partnered with Trinity Capital and Buffalo Wild Wings for an event focused on attracting lenders back into the casual dining segment of the restaurant industry. Many of you know that some of the traditional lenders have been leaving this space over the last 18 months, which is creating a difficult hurdle to growth for our organizations.

We worked with our partners to create a Lending Summit to bring over 100 financial institutions together to learn more about the state of our business and encourage them to offer their services to our sector. It was well-received by participants, and we look forward to good things happening on this issue soon. Thanks to those of you who gave your company’s financial information to this project. Your help is benefitting all our businesses!

The transition from summer to autumn also means that 2021 is winding down and preparations for next year are under way. We’re excited to announce that the location and dates of the 2022 FBS Summit have been chosen: the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs, Florida, on May 9-11. Save those dates so you can join us on the Gulf Coast of Florida next spring!

Our association will maintain its busy pace as we work together for the benefit of all our businesses. Please stay connected with us and be part of the effort!

I wish you a happy, and busy, autumn!

Wray Hutchinson