[SpotOn Series] Scaling a Restaurant Brand With Eric Slaymaker, Founder and CEO of Wingers

Eric Slaymaker is the Founder and CEO of Wingers Restaurant & Alehouse, a family-friendly sports alehouse known for its robust craft beer selection and tasty wings. He has a rich history in the restaurant industry, following in the entrepreneurial footsteps of his father, who was a franchisee of several nationally recognized brands. Eric, along with his brother Scott, has also been a franchise owner of various restaurant brands and played a pivotal role in franchising the Wingers brand. In addition to his extensive experience in restaurateuring, Eric was a founding partner of alternative radio stations in the 1990s and often performs with the Irish rock band, The Young Dubliners.

Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Hear:

• [01:37] Creating the fun and energetic vibe of Wingers Restaurant & Alehouse
• [02:19] Eric Slaymaker’s motivation behind starting Wingers, inspired by his father’s legacy in the restaurant industry
• [07:00] How Wingers evolved from a diner to a gastropub-style alehouse over the last 30 years
• [08:17] Wingers’ strategy for managing and supporting franchise locations
• [14:44] Essential qualities Wingers looks for in potential franchisees and why local ownership is crucial
• [17:25] How Wingers sets itself apart from other franchise opportunities by targeting smaller markets
• [20:42] Key considerations for finding a successful restaurant location
• [25:32] Eric’s vision for modern marketing strategies and creating messages that resonate
• [29:19] Why Eric chose to open an alehouse instead of a steakhouse or a Mexican restaurant

In this episode…

The restaurant industry faces dynamic challenges and evolving consumer preferences, requiring constant adaptation for success. What strategies can entrepreneurs adopt to sustain their business during uncertain times?

According to restaurant industry veteran Eric Slaymaker, adaptability and operational efficiency are key to thriving in the restaurant business. Eric emphasizes the importance of building strong teams, focusing on customer experience, and maintaining a flexible approach to menu offerings. These strategies helped him navigate economic downturns and changing consumer preferences.

On this episode of the Top Business Leaders Show, Rise25’s Chad Franzen welcomes Eric Slaymaker, Founder and CEO of Wingers Restaurant & Alehouse to discuss his journey in the restaurant industry, lessons learned from his years of experience, and insights on how to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market. Eric shares why Wingers is a good franchise opportunity and describes the ideal franchisee. He also reveals which menu item has replaced wings as the brand’s most popular offering.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Eric Slaymaker on LinkedIn
• Wingers Restaurant & Alehouse
• Wingers Franchising
• Sizzler Steakhouse
• Chi-Chi’s Mexican Restaurant
• TGI Fridays
• Tony Roma’s
• Scott Slaymaker on LinkedIn
• Chad Franzen on LinkedIn
• SpotOn
• Rise25

Quotable Moments:

• “I wanted to create something a little bit smaller package and be able to do it without a larger investment.”
• “We really aimed to target smaller markets and be very successful where our national competitors can’t make sense of.”
• “Your successful restaurant is never any more successful than the general manager.”
• “We can teach them the Wingers way and through our training.”
• “Create a great message that exhibits what the experience is like when you walk into a Wingers Alehouse.”

Action Steps:

1. Prioritize hiring and developing great general managers: A strong leader at the helm of each restaurant ensures efficient operations and customer satisfaction, which ultimately drives business success.
2. Target smaller markets for franchise expansion: This strategy allows for establishing a powerful local presence, with reduced competition and potential for strong community engagement.
3. Invest in an effective, resonant marketing message: Crafting a message that conveys your brand’s experience can capitalize on targeted advertising efforts and forge a strong connection with potential customers.
4. Overinvest in franchise support systems: Providing comprehensive training and ongoing support fosters franchisee success and ensures brand consistency across locations.
5. Embrace digital and social media marketing: Adopting modern marketing strategies allows for precise targeting and efficient use of resources, increasing visibility and attracting a broad customer base.

Sponsor for this episode

SpotOn:

Today’s episode is brought to you by SpotOn. SpotOn has transformed the merchant service industry by providing the tools and support your business deserves at a price that puts money back into your pocket!

SpotOn’s team wants to empower all of their merchants by merging payment processing with simple customer engagement tools, all in one easy-to-use platform. As a business owner, you are focused on managing your daily operations and engaging your customers. You don’t have the time, energy, or excess funds to devote to multiple complicated platforms! That’s why SpotOn is focused on helping you build long-lasting customer loyalty while saving you time and money through our all in one system.

Whether you are a merchant or a consumer, SpotOn wants to be more than an average payment processor. SpotOn aims to exceed your expectations by valuing simplicity, maintaining flexibility, and celebrating innovative collaboration. Let SpotOn help you do business the right way.

Partner with SpotOn today! Visit spoton.com today to schedule your free demo or to view SpotOn’s products. You can also call SpotOn at 877.814.4102 at any time. Let SpotOn help you make the difference with your business!

Rise25:

At Rise25, we’re committed to helping you connect with your Dream 100 referral partners, clients, and strategic partners through our done-for-you podcast solution.

We’re a professional podcast production agency that makes creating a podcast effortless. Since 2009, our proven system has helped thousands of B2B businesses build strong relationships with referral partners, clients, and audiences without doing the hard work.

What do you need to start a podcast?

When you use our proven system, all you need is an idea and a voice. We handle the strategy, production, and distribution – you just need to show up and talk.

The Rise25 podcasting solution is designed to help you build a profitable podcast. This requires a specific strategy, and we’ve got that down pat. We focus on making sure you have a direct path to ROI, which is the most important component. Plus, our podcast production company takes any heavy lifting of production and distribution off your plate.

We make distribution easy.

We’ll distribute each episode across more than 11 unique channels, including iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. We’ll also create copy for each episode and promote your show across social media.

Co-founders Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran credit podcasting as being the best thing they have ever done for their businesses. Podcasting connected them with the founders/CEOs of P90x, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, Rx Bars,  YPO, EO, Lending Tree, Freshdesk, and many more.

The relationships you form through podcasting run deep. Jeremy and John became business partners through podcasting. They have even gone on family vacations and attended weddings of guests who have been on the podcast.

Podcast production has a lot of moving parts and is a big commitment on our end; we only want to work with people who are committed to their business and to cultivating amazing relationships.

Are you considering launching a podcast to acquire partnerships, clients, and referrals? Would you like to work with a podcast agency that wants you to win?

Contact us now at support@rise25.com or book a call at rise25.com/bookcall.

Rise25 Co-founders, Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran, have been podcasting and advising about podcasting since 2008.

Episode Transcript

Intro 0:03

Welcome to the Top Business Leaders Show. Powered by Rise25 Media, we feature top founders, executives and business leaders from all over the world.

Chad Franzen 0:19

Hi. Chad Franzen here, co-host for this show, where we feature top restaurant tours, investors and business leaders. This is part of our SpotOn series. SpotOn has the best in class payment platform for retail, and they have a flagship solution called SpotOn Restaurant, where they combine marketing software and payments all in one. They’ve served everyone from larger chains like Dairy Queen and subway to small mom and pop restaurants to learn more. Go to spoton.com This episode is brought to you by Rise25 we help b2b businesses to get ROI clients, referrals and strategic partnerships through done for you podcasts. If you have a b2b business and want to build great relationships with clients, referral partners and thought leaders in your space, there’s no better way to do it than through podcasts and content marketing. To learn more, go to rise25.com or email us at support@rise25.com My guest today is Eric Slaymaker. Eric is the CEO and founder of the Wingers Alehouse brand, a family friendly sports Ale House that has been around for 30 years in the Mountain West and is now expanding into the Midwest. Eric and his brother Scott have also been franchisees with a number of different Restaurant Brands, and Eric was the founding partner of an alternative radio station of our alternative radio stations in the 1990s. In his spare time, he is a special musical guest with a few music musical artists, and performs frequently with the internationally famous Irish rock band, The Young Dubliners all around the United States. Eric, thanks so much for joining me today. How are you?

Eric Slaymaker 1:43

Good. Great to Great to be here with you. Chad,

Chad Franzen 1:46

Hey, uh, tell me, if I go to Wingers for the first time today, what kind of vibe would I experience?

Eric Slaymaker 1:53

Uh, hopefully you will get a high energy, fun experience. It is certainly a bit of a sports bar vibe, but we kind of stopped short of calling ourselves a full fledged sports bar. It would be a little more of a gastropub experience, but, but probably, you know, the number one thing is we, we would want you to to walk away and say that I had great food and I had a really fun time.

Chad Franzen 2:28

Okay, awesome. So you started it in 1993, what kind of inspired you to start Wingers back then?

Eric Slaymaker 2:35

Well, I was, I was my brother and I our father, was in the restaurant business, and he was a franchisee. He became, fact, if you go back to the 1980s he became, well, even in the 70s, he became the franchisee with Sizzler Restaurants, of all places where now I’m based out of Salt Lake City and our father was based in Salt Lake, says, growing up, he went and got the franchise rights to Sizzler Restaurants for Alaska. And how he did that, not living in Alaska, I have no damn idea at the time, I was pretty young, but he convinced them to give them the franchise rights to him, and he became a franchisee and had successful kind of back in the Sizzler Restaurant heydays, back when, when in the heyday of the salad bar, 70s and 80s, if you will. He had restaurants in Alaska and Wyoming, and then he became involved with a Mexican chain franchise group as a franchisee Chi-Chi’s and and I think he opened a Chi-Chi’s in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1983 that was for the time. Now, Utah has been relatively conservative, particularly conservative when it came to, you know, alcohol and liquor. And I remember I was, I was kind of young at the time, but I remember somebody saying, there, this was the first restaurant in Utah that actually had was a bar and cantina actually in restaurant combined, because in Utah, you were either a restaurant or a bar, and you kind of, you didn’t mix them, and it was quite unique. At that point, very successful. He sold those, and then he became involved with TGI Fridays and Tony Roma’s back in the day. So he was, he was very entrepreneurish, and was, you know, obviously quite a player in regional, player in the franchise world. And I, having grown up in that and and having been involved and actually working for my dad for a little bit, I really was incentivized. I wanted to be a I wanted to create my own brand. I wanted to be a franchisor. And so over time, taking. Notes. I, you know, scraped up my every little bit and found little investors. And then 1993 opened the first Wingers at that point. It was called Wingers diner. It was a small, little 2,900-square foot diner style building just outside of Salt Lake City. And what that first location that was opened, there are a few threads that some of the food items, some of the sauce so famous for still is alive and vibrant today. But as far as the experience the brand has evolved dramatically in those 30 years, and so the buildings and the environments that we are growing with and developing now are quite a bit different than that first small little store that we opened 30 years ago.

Chad Franzen 6:16

What kind of responsibilities did you have in your dad’s restaurants?

Eric Slaymaker 6:21

I was mainly involved, as in, in marketing. And I started getting involved when my brother was involved in restaurant operations at the time. And so I, you know, I kind of learned from that. And I came in from from, from the from the marketing side, as I had just gotten out of college, and so was, you know, kind of learned and SAP soaked up everything I could and and really kind of took that experience to develop what I thought would be a successful, smaller brand in in the Wingers diner brand at the time. And so, yeah, that’s, that’s really where, where it happened and where, you know, I kind of jumped off the ledge with Wingers. And 30 years later, we’re still here and and now we’re now, we’re ramping up growth. So…

Chad Franzen 7:16

Yeah, yeah, that’s awesome. So had you already been a franchisee yourself prior to opening Wingers?

Eric Slaymaker 7:24

Not, not prior to opening Wingers. What interesting that happened is, just a couple years after that first location opened, my brother Scott and I, our father died, and so he died in 1995 and so our operation, Scott and I took over becoming franchisees. So technically, I became, I became franchisees as our operation took over, we still had Tony Romans and TGI Fridays at that time. So certainly understood and knew the franchisee business and then also Wingers was just a small, you know, at that point, just a couple of locations. And so we were just, we were just barely starting to grow on the winger side, but we were still quite involved. My brother Scott was more involved in operations with our franchise restaurants, and I was a little more focused on on our Wingers brand as that was developing and growing.

Chad Franzen 8:33

Let’s say, was the vibe maybe at the second location a lot different than the first one, which we said was kind of said was kind of more like an eatery, or did that change more? So?

Eric Slaymaker 8:42

No, no, that really, that the bigger change came later on, really, for the first 10 years of Wingers development, we opened stores in Utah and a couple stores in Idaho, and we really kept that small diner footprint, and it was successful. But we did find, we did learn. We opened a couple stores outside of Utah, and that diner model, we did not work as well. It only did 75% of the revenue that our Utah stores were doing, and with Wingers at the time, was a full service brand. Was not fast casual so it was not something that you would order at the counter and take out. But we did learn as we went outside of Utah, if you’re going to be full service, you really need we did not have a full offering of adult beverages, alcohol bar. We just didn’t have that. If you’re going to be full service and you go, you know, it was successful locally and regionally, but it didn’t travel. And I think, having been in so many of us have been in food service. We, you know, we find things that work in certain areas of the country, and they just and they don’t travel very well. And so we have evolved. We actually started opening our first locations that had full bar and then jumping forward in the conversation in 26 Steam. We actually did our first, what we call Wingers Alehouse test, where we took a store in Napa, Idaho, which is just outside of Boise, and it did have a full bar, but we really reimagined that location completely. We took it from 10 beer taps to 40 beer taps, and we remodeled the restaurant, and that store reopened. And the week it reopened, it was about 60% up in sales. And that location, Today, that same location, is doing almost two and a half to three times the volume it did before we changed it to the L house. So we are very, very at this point, pretty our prototype will do, typically, about 40 beers on draft. We do it is very craft beer forward with what we feel is, is a great culinary experience with with Kraft food and and sometimes I kind of joke that it only took us about 20 or 25 years to figure out that it’s Wow, it’s It’s fantastic wing fingers and beer and so, but now I flip that around, is, very interestingly, is, is our our brand now actually does better outside of our home base of Utah than it does. We have great stores in Utah, but we will still do anywhere from 25 to 35% higher volumes outside of the state, primarily because of the beverage component that we get when we go outside of Utah, just those additional cells.

Chad Franzen 12:10

And so is that model? Is that model that you described in Napa? Is that? Can that be found in other locations then as well?

Eric Slaymaker 12:17

Yeah, yep. And we’ve actually spent, you know, we’ve actually been retrofitting existing stores, and all of our new growth is now, you know, with our Wingers, what, what we brand, and as our Wingers, l house brand and, and we did, and particularly a couple of years ago, we said, hey, now it’s it’s really time that we expand beyond we strong and very prominent in the Intermountain, Rocky Mountain region, and knew that the brand was ripe and as time to be going and expanding. And we’re really focused on expanding into the Midwest right now. And so you know several states going in towards Wyoming, Colorado. We open in Oklahoma next month, several new franchisees developing in Texas. And so all through that corridor, the Midwest is where we are really targeting, and feel like our brand is ripe for growth right now.