FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wing Zone Named “Festival Favorite” for Second Time in
Five-Year National Buffalo Wing Festival History

Buffalo, NY – Despite more than 3 inches of rain soaking into the Dunn Tire Park field, the National Buffalo Wing Festival went on. Buffalo Chicken Wing fanatics packed the Wing Zone booth – helping the 80-unit franchise win the prestigious national award “Festival Favorite” at the fifth annual festival. 
“The National Buffalo Wing Festival and its guests truly blessed Wing Zone this year,” said Stan Friedman, executive vice president of Wing Zone. “We began the festival knowing we would assist some of the world’s top competitive eaters as the ‘Office Sauce’ of the U.S. Competitive Wing Eating Championships. We left with an even bigger accomplishment as ‘Festival Favorite.’ We love Buffalo and Buffalo loves us.”

Wing Zone, a fast-growing takeout/delivery chain best noted for its 25 flavors of fresh, cooked-to-order Buffalo chicken wings, served its Medium Buffalo Sauce for the second straight year as the “Official Sauce” of the national festival held Sept. 2-3 in Buffalo, NY. Chip Simpson, better known as Chip Burger, set the world record by eating 178 chicken wings in 12 minutes – shattering the record previously held by Eric “Badlands” Booker.

“Chip had the advantage of practicing eating our chicken wings before the competition, as he frequently dines at the Wing Zone in Gainesville,” Friedman said. “And for him to shatter last year’s record by ‘Badlands’ (who downed 137 wings in 12 minutes), clearly, our sauce is just that smooth. We have won over the taste-buds of critical Buffalo wing fans and aficionados all over America, but when Buffalonians embrace your wings – you know you’ve got a great product.”

Wing Zone has played an increasingly valuable role in the festival since its infancy. In its first year participating, Wing Zone walked off with the “Most Creative Sauce” award (Garlic Parmesan), and since has been named “Out of Town Festival Favorite.” Additionally, Wing Zone was honored by former Buffalo Mayor Anthony M. Masiello when he proclaimed Sept. 2, 2005 as “Wing Zone Day” in Buffalo, NY.  Wing Zone earned the proclamation for its consistent promotion of the National Buffalo Wing Festival and City of Buffalo -- in business and in community.

“Virtually everything we do to promote our brand speaks to how it all began 42 years ago in Buffalo,” Friedman said. “We view Buffalo as the Mecca of the wing business, as the city continues to welcome and embrace us year after year at the nationally recognized event.”

Each year, National Buffalo Wing Festival founder/organizer, Drew Cerza, (a true PT Barnum of festival promotion) comes up with unique draws to highlight the festival. This year, a couple was married at the festival to complement the already popular wing eating championships.

“Wing Zone has played an instrumental role in the growing success of the festival, offering support and fantastic wings to our efforts,” Cerza said. “For the second straight year, Wing Zone’s Medium Buffalo sauce was designated as the official sauce for this year’s competitive eating championships, and Wing Zone once again earned the title as the official representative at the festival for the state of Georgia,” noting that 30+ chicken wing specialty restaurants from around the country participated in this year’s event and Wing Zone came away with the “Festival Favorite” award.

The National Buffalo Wing Festival has grown significantly since its inception in 2002. The idea for the festival sprang up when the movie, "Osmosis Jones," with Bill Murray, featured a fictional festival. When a local newspaper columnist who saw the movie questioned why no such real event exits, Cerza came to the rescue, setting the precedent for years of festivals to come.
About Wing Zone

About Wing Zone

Wing Zone was founded in 1991 at the University of Florida by Matt Friedman and Adam Scott, who cooked wings with homemade sauces in their fraternity house kitchen and delivered them to fellow college students. After expanding with several Wing Zone locations, Scott and Friedman began franchising Wing Zone in 1999. In 2003, the pair welcomed industry veteran Stan Friedman (no relation to Matt) as a third partner and named him Executive Vice President. As a strong advocate of urban development and minority outreach programs, Stan Friedman has been promoting diversity in franchising through governmental lobbying activities and as an active leader in the International Franchising Association’s Minorities in Franchising Committee.  He also serves on the Boards of the Georgia Restaurant Association, the International Franchising Association’s Diversity Institute and is Chairman of the Board of the recently organized Atlanta Franchise Alliance.

Wing Zone currently has more than 80 locations open, with 30 more in development, many of which will be open by the end of 2006. While earning customer loyalty from consumers nationwide, Wing Zone is also receiving accolades from, community, food service and franchise industry insiders as well.  In fact, Wing Zone was rated a Top 20 New Franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine, included in Bond’s Top 100 Franchise Opportunities, ranked in Franchise Times’ Fast 55 and was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing, privately held companies in America.  For more information about Wing Zone or the festival, visit www.wingzone.com or www.buffalowing.com.