By India Brown
“It’s Tuesday night and our usual hang out spot is closed! Where are we gonna go now?” This may be a phrase that has either come out of your mouth or from a friend after news spread that Wild Wing Café in downtown Spartanburg was closed. The question that has been brewing in the campus community is why?
On Dec. 5 2008, Wild Wing Café officially closed its doors to the public. According to Andy Palmer, director of franchising, the restaurant closed down due to a few issues that the owners were not taking care of. One of the problems was that the franchise lost their alcohol license. The other issue was that the owners failed to pay for workers compensation insurance.
“We as a company pulled our franchise after we found out that they lost their liquor license and worker’s compensation insurance. We basically as a company wouldn’t allow them to operate as a franchise without those things,” Palmer said.
Once the closing of the store was official, Wings Over America—the franchising agency for Wild Wing Café— pulled their name, recipes and cooking methods from the store. However, even though it may have been unsuccessful, the owners did have an option of keeping the establishment open. Spartanburg is one of many franchises that Wings Over America oversees. Since the building, equipment and personnel were operated by the owners prior to its closing, Wings Over America was not responsible for any dealings with those issues.
As the country attempts to thrive during this economic crisis, the news of another restaurant closing is no longer an uncommon subject. However, the closing of Wild Wings caught many of the employees who worked there by surprise. Some employees woke up and prepared to begin their usual work days, hearing later the news of the establishment suddenly being closed.
“I got a text message saying that Wild Wings was closed. I had heard rumors before that they were going to close, but the owners said they weren’t,” an anonymous former employee said.
Another former employee also recalled the day that the restaurant’s liquor license was no longer valid.
“I do remember that the restaurant’s liquor license expired on Nov. 11, 2008, and the restaurant still operated the bar at full capacity until the last day of business,” they said. Many employees also recall having a team meeting with the owners on Nov. 12, 2008, reassuring them that the restaurant would not close.
Wild Wing’s corporate office got many phone calls from employees complaining about the situation and looking for answers as to why they were not notified earlier. However, due to the fact that the owners of Wild Wings purchased the franchise from Wings Over America, it was the responsibility of the Spartanburg franchise owners to notify employees.
“As a franchiser, we don’t have direct contact with the employees. We got a lot of calls from the employees. We have a store in Greenville and even tried to help out the best we could by sending some of the servers there,” Palmer said.
With their experience in bartending and serving, many employees found themselves applying to Chief’s Wings and Firewater, also in Spartanburg, for a job. The management team at Chief’s gladly took them on.
"We tried to hire on as many people as we could. We wanted to give them the opportunity to survive in this terrible economy,” Lindsey Bauss, the assistant manager for Chief’s said.
Bauss and other employees have also seen a shift in business, especially on Tuesday nights when the restaurant offers their Two Dollar Tuesdays along with buy one get one free wings. The management crew hopes that they can keep the new customers they’ve gained from the closing of Wild Wings. Yet, will the crowds still pour in when Wild Wings reopens?
“We strive to give great service, so hopefully they will continue to come here regardless of what side of town it’s on,” Bauss said.
As of right now the building where Wild Wings once operated in is in foreclosure, a process that could take anywhere from four to six months to end. Palmer hopes to have a new group of owners in place later on this year. Until then he says, “Everyone’s hands are tied”.
“We’ve had a great relationship with the city of Spartanburg. We look forward to reopening Wild Wing Café’ with owners that would run an outstanding business. We’re doing everything we can to make it a smooth transition for a new business owner to get the establishment and to keep jobs,” explained Palmer.