Re-inventing the Urban Neighborhood Sports and Entertainment Experience
The Challenge
Define a new restaurant experience that allows Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) to maintain leadership as the 3rd venue for sports and deliver strong unit growth through penetration of the urban market.
The Key Insight
The modern, urban patron of local sports bars has a deep need to feel aligned with the establishments they spend time in. This connection can be interrupted by loud brands and inauthenticity. Winning guests in the urban market would require subtlety, comfort, convenience and genuine vibes that stem from neighborhood connection. On the commercial side, the architecture of the menu and bar needed a bespoke strategy to accommodate the realities of urban cost structures, the competitive landscape, patron expectations and their elevated willingness to pay.
The Outcome
Our understanding of the urban sports fans’ unique needs and the commercial nuances led to a robust recommendation for how to rethink sports bar restaurants in cities. We delivered detailed floor plans, material style guides and a suite of innovative hospitality features across media, technology, F&B, environment and ergonomics. These features were brought to life through UX and spatial design, detailed considerations and feasibility analyses. Additionally, we developed complete financial models that included cost structures, revenue stream projections and geographic prioritization.
