Featured on national television multiple times, Atomic Wings is seeing explosive growth with a franchisee-first mentality.

The story of Atomic Wings is a remarkable one. The brand, created by Adam Lippin in 1989, is known as the first wing restaurant in New York City. It helped introduce authentic buffalo-style wings to the world.

Fast-forward to today. CEO Zak Omar and his brother, Ray, recently took over the brand with a franchisee-first mentality. As experienced franchisees, they have deep knowledge of the franchise model and what franchisees need in order to thrive. 

“We really focus on franchisee success and satisfaction,” Omar says. “We stopped taking royalty payments during the earliest COVID-19 lockdowns. Those weren’t deferred payments—we stopped taking them altogether. During the national wing crisis, we also reduced royalties by half. We told our franchisees, ‘Hey, we’re in this together.’ We understand their cost burden, and we understand what it takes to run successful restaurants.”

With 16 current locations in the Northeast and over 90 more signed locations across the U.S., Atomic Wings is entering a phase of unprecedented growth. This growth has largely been spurred by the brand’s very selective Area Representative Program.

“2023 is going to be a year of aggressive expansion,” Omar says. “We’ve sold out several territories in the Midwest already. We’re looking for experienced operators all over the U.S.—people who know the restaurant industry and who know how to drive sales to their stores. We want to build this brand the right way from the ground up.”

That includes keeping construction costs to a minimum for franchisees. “We want to do everything we can to help our franchisees grow and get a return on their investment as soon as possible,” Omar says. “With our stores, we’re looking to create a friendly guest experience, and we’re hoping that translates across all of America.”

In many ways, it already has. In the last couple of years, Atomic Wings has garnered attention from national media, from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to Fox and Friends.

In addition to prioritizing franchisees, Omar attributes the brand’s success to its premium products. “To differentiate ourselves from other wing brands, our wings go through a series of steps before they ever hit the fryer,” Omar says. “Our product is always fresh, never frozen. We’ve also been able to reduce cook times from 12 minutes down to about four–six minutes due to our processes. It’s all about speed of service and convenience for our guests.”

The boneless wings and tenders are hand-breaded and hand-battered. (Grilled wings are also being rolled out in select locations.) The selection of sauces is huge, and Omar says about 95 percent of them are gluten-free. The brand recently introduced several new offerings, including a Nashville Hot line, a series of dry rubs, and aioli sauce for chicken tenders. Drive thrus—rare in the wing space—are also in the works.

“One of the things I love about this brand is that all the growth we’ve had has been organic,” Omar says. “We offer a superior product, and we treat our franchisees like a family.”

To learn more, visit atomicwingsfranchising.com.

By Kara Phelps

Sponsored Content