BWW GO

Food & Beverage

FDD Year: 2025

Item 19 Available

BWW GO^®

Food & Beverage • Year: 2025

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Business Model Overview

Buffalo Wild Wings GO (BWW-GO) franchises restaurants that feature chicken wings, chicken tenders and other food and beverage products prepared according to the franchisor’s specified recipes and system. The concept is designed primarily for off‑premises consumption, with delivery and carry‑out channels noted and on‑premises dining referenced in the market. Franchisees operate at franchisor‑approved Authorized Locations, including a range of Non‑Traditional Locations (e.g., military bases, universities, airports, stadiums, food courts, hotels and hospitals) and may operate in Multi‑Brand Locations co‑located with other franchised restaurants.

Pros & Cons Analysis

Pros

Low initial franchise fee (~$30,000; substantially below peers) — lower upfront capital requirement.

Very low outlet terminations and non‑renewals (0) and minimal franchisor enforcement — suggests strong franchisee retention/stability.

Large Item 19 sample size (81) — above-industry disclosure breadth improves financial transparency for due diligence.

Cons

Gross sales metrics are extremely low versus industry (average gross sales ≈ $18,821 vs industry median ~$1.15M) — major profitability concern.

Elevated legal and regulatory exposure (multiple disclosed lawsuits, fraud allegations, and government penalties) — material litigation/regulatory risk.

Training and related fees are substantially above industry (trainee cost ~$2,500; higher costs for additional/ongoing training) — increases ongoing operating expenses.

Legal Risk Score

43/100

POOR

Several consumer class actions (e.g., boneless-wings advertising; delivery/service fee suits) were pending or settled. More notably, affiliated brands settled government actions over franchise contract no‑poach clauses and data‑security/disclosure violations with injunctive remedies. Score ~43 indicates moderate regulatory/compliance risk that could impose operational costs for franchisees.

Territory Protection Score

15/100

POOR

The franchisee receives a 'protected' but not exclusive territory, which is a common but less safe arrangement. However, the franchisor can reduce territory for non‑performance and may sell online into the area while the franchisee lacks a right of first refusal, resulting in a weak protection score of 15/100.

Training & Support Score

100

Excellent

Scoring 100, the franchise offers a robust, comprehensive training and support program with extensive total training (185 hours) and included on-site assistance as a major strength; however, on-site support may incur additional costs and the initial fee covers no trainee slots, increasing franchisee expenses.

Executive Summary

The opportunity pairs a relatively modest initial franchise fee ($30,000, non‑refundable) with a capital‑intensive build‑out—construction plus FF&E run roughly $360k–$595k before POS, signage, professional fees and working capital—making the total upfront outlay materially higher than the franchise fee alone. Reported Item 19 weekly AUVs average $18,821 (median $17,504) across 81 units but show substantial dispersion (low $8,445; high $43,208) and only 39.5% of units exceed the mean, a high‑volatility indicator that suggests outcomes are driven by a smaller set of top performers. Support is a strength (185 hours training, on‑site help) but many training and living costs fall to franchisees, while legal/regulatory disclosure (7 lawsuits, multiple government actions, several fraud allegations) scores as a moderate compliance risk. Finally, territory protections are weak (protected but not exclusive; franchisor may sell online and shrink territories), so despite noteworthy growth activity (32 signed-but-not-open units, 90 franchised vs. 50 company units), this profile reads as potentially high‑reward but also high‑risk.

Performance Analysis

The company_growth chart shows a clear increase in total BWW GO units from 2022 through 2025, indicating an overall upward trajectory in system size over that period. The unit_mix chart, which reports 64.3% franchised and 35.7% company‑owned as of 2025, suggests that this expansion is being driven primarily by franchising; prospective franchisees should therefore view BWW GO as a franchise‑led growth model and evaluate franchise support, local market opportunity, and potential intra‑system competition accordingly.

Key Performance Indicators

BWW GO total unit growth from 2022 to 2025

BWW GO unit mix: 64.3% franchised, 35.7% company-owned (as of 2025)

Financial Performance Analysis (Item 19)

Average Gross Sales:

$18,821

Median Gross Sales:

$17,504

High Gross Sales:

$43,208

Low Gross Sales:

$8,445

Sample Size:

Percent Attaining Average:

39.5%

Audited:

Franchise vs Corporate Performance: The Item 19 data cover 81 Reporting Franchised BWW-GO Restaurants for the measuring year (March 4, 2024–March 2, 2025). The reported overall weekly average Unit Volume (AUV, defined as Gross Sales) for all Reporting Franchised Restaurants is $18,821. The Experienced Franchised Restaurants subset (38 units) shows a similar weekly AUV of $18,054 with a median of $17,243, indicating franchised outlets’ reported revenue levels are broadly consistent across the full reporting group and the experienced subset. The franchisor states it did not independently audit the submitted POS/sales data.

Performance Variability Analysis: There is substantial variability across units. All Restaurants statistics show a median weekly AUV of $17,504, a high of $43,208 and a low of $8,445. Quartile AUVs are: 1st $28,270; 2nd $19,777; 3rd $15,943; 4th $11,654. Only 32 of 81 units (39.5%) had weekly AUVs above the overall average, highlighting a skew toward a smaller number of high-performing units driving the mean. Within quartiles, median weekly AUV ranges from $25,636 (top quartile) down to $12,040 (bottom quartile).

Data Scope and Limitations: The AUVs reflect weekly gross sales (excludes sales taxes, bona fide voids/refunds and coupon face value). Super Bowl week was excluded from Reporting Franchised Restaurants calculations but not excluded for Experienced Franchised Restaurants. The franchisor collected sales reports from franchisees and POS systems but states it did not independently audit the data; it offers to provide substantiation on request. Item 19 figures do not reflect costs of goods sold, operating expenses or net income and thus cannot be used alone to estimate profitability.

Investment Requirements

Total Outlets:

140

Company Owned Units:

Franchised Units:

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