Wings Etc. franchise
2026 filing · April 20, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
Wings Etc. at a glance
A casual grill and pub serving chicken wings, burgers and sandwiches with beer, wine and liquor, plus a smaller Wings Etc. 2Go format. At the end of 2025 there were 82 Wings Etc. locations in the US, 56 franchised and 26 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Wings Etc., Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2005
- 21 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $374K–$1.55M
- A Grill and Pub in a non-freestanding or converted site
- Franchise fee
- $39,500
- $20,000 for a Wings Etc. 2Go
- Royalty
- 4%–5%
- 4% to 5% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus 2% to the national brand fund
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of gross sales
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- 10% of our then-current Initial Franchise Fee
- Territory
- None
- No exclusive territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 82
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 56
- Company-owned
- 26
- Change in 3 years
- +1
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 13
- Most in Indiana, Michigan and Illinois
Support and records
From Wings Etc., Inc’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 68; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Wings Etc. among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Wings Etc. | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $961,125 | Costs more than 82% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $39,500 | Lower than 57% of franchises |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 82 | More than 73% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $1,522,668 | Higher than 79% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.6× | Higher than 50% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Wings Etc. franchise costs
Opening a Grill and Pub in a non-freestanding or converted site costs an estimated $373,650 to $1,548,600. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Wings Etc., Inc, 2026 filing, page 17
Wings Etc. franchise fee
The franchise fee is $39,500, $20,000 for a Wings Etc. 2Go. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Wings Etc., Inc, 2026 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 4% to 5% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus 2% to the national brand fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of gross sales. |
| Computer System/Cash Register/POS | $10,000 to $13,000 |
| Renewal Fee | 10% of our then-current Initial Franchise Fee |
| Local Advertising Expenditure/Fee | 1% of Gross Sales |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Wings Etc., Inc, 2026 filing, page 12
Other fees as filed, from pages 13–16. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Wings Etc. publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $1,522,668
- Median sales
- $1,407,493
Yearly figures for 2025, covering franchised restaurants open at least 12 months at the end of 2025 (53 locations). The average is about 1.6 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: Wings Etc., Inc, 2026 filing, pages 40–45
SBA loans to Wings Etc. franchisees
Lenders approved 69 SBA-backed loans for Wings Etc. franchisees from 2005 to 2025, $32.4M in all: 53 7(a) loans and 16 504 loans. Of the 48 that have ended, 43 were paid in full and 5 were charged off (10.4%). The other 21 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Wings Etc. | Typical chicken brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | +3.7% / +1.8% | +3.7% / +27% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 1.9% / 13% | 2.4% / 12% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical chicken brand is the median of the 34 brands in chicken franchises with three years of counts.
How Wings Etc. compares
Of the 113 chicken franchises on this site, Wings Etc. is the 50th cheapest to open and the 20th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Wings Etc. | Typical chicken brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $374K | $407K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.55M | $868K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $35K | $40K |
| Brand fund | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $1.52M | $2.01M | $794K |
| US locations | 82 | 10 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 61 of 113 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 113 brands in chicken franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 (+3) | 22 | – | – |
| 2022 | 55 (0) | 25 | – | – |
| 2023 | 54 (−1) | 26 | +4 | −5 |
| 2024 | 54 (0) | 26 | +1 | −1 |
| 2025 | 56 (+2) | 26 | +3 | −1 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: chicken franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 52 to 56 (+4, +8%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Wings Etc., Inc, 2026 filing, page 46
2021–2022: Wings Etc., Inc, 2024 filing, page 42
Where Wings Etc. locations are
At the end of 2025, Wings Etc. had locations in 13 states. The most are in Indiana, Michigan and Illinois.
- Indiana48
- Michigan7
- Illinois5
- Ohio5
- Missouri4
- Kentucky3
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 23 | 25 | 48 |
| Michigan | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Illinois | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Ohio | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Missouri | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Kentucky | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Texas | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| West Virginia | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Kansas | 1 | 0 | 1 |
All 13 states
| North Carolina | 1 |
|---|---|
| Tennessee | 1 |
| Virginia | 1 |
Source: Wings Etc., Inc, 2026 filing, page 47
Who owns Wings Etc.?
Wings Etc. franchises are sold by Wings Etc., Inc.
From Wings Etc., Inc’s 2026 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Wings Etc., Inc, 2026 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Wings Etc. filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Wings Etc., Inc’s 2026 filing, issued April 20, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository and the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | April 20, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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