Arby's Purchases Buffalo Wild Wings for $2.4 Billion

 

SAN ANGELO, TX-- The same company that left their San Angelo building in 2013 could be making a comeback in the Concho Valley.

No, the abandoned 2,400 square foot property on Knickerbocker will not be reoccupied by Arby's. Instead, on Tuesday, Arby's Restaurant Group acquired the Sports Bar chain Buffalo Wild Wings for $2.4 billion.

This deal comes after Buffalo Wild Wings took a hit as the cost of chicken rose, according to the investment bank UBS, and the US populous started to eat more meals at home.

Does that mean the local Buffalo Wild Wings will start serving Reuben sandwiches? Possibly, but don't expect sweeping changes to take place at the well-known sports bar.

"We are excited to welcome a brand with such rich heritage, led by an exceptionally talented team," Arby's CEO Paul Brown said in a statement. "We look forward to leveraging the combined strengths of both organizations into a truly differentiated and transformative multi-brand restaurant company.”

The move also means Arby's will assume the debt of Buffalo Wild Wings.

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Finally some good news.... Hopefully once Arbys has the front door keys in their hands, they will have a garage sale and sell all the TV's in that place and then put some sound dampening material on the walls and it'll be a great place. I went in the Wild Wings place 1 time and swore I'd never go back. It was simply just a beer joint complete with hundreds of drunks all screaming at the top of their lungs and what seemed like 57 different TV's all blaring at maximum volume trying to be louder than the drunks.......

You went to a "sports bar." It even has the word "wild" it the name, I'm wondering what you expected.

Well Conchosoft, a thousand restaurants in town sell alcohol and a lot of them have TV's in them. Very few (if any) have drunk patrons being over served by staff like Wild Wings. I went in for the menu and food, not for the rowdy environment that they condone. If I wanted that kind of experience, I'd have gone to one of the downtown bars where that is expected........

From the discussion, it seems there is an expectation that Wild Wings will adopt some decor or menu items from Arbys. I don't think that is likely. The purchase announcement includes this statement: "Arby's is controlled by the Roark Capital Group, which says it will be taking Buffalo Wild Wings private and continue to operate it as an *independent* brand. "

Per Roark's web site the company also controls scores of other brands including Cinnabon, McAlister's Deli and Schlotzsky's. None of those brands share a menu or decor. Another major restaurant operator, Yum, controls Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. Each of these eateries also maintain their own unique brand identity.

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