Business & Tech

After Long Wait, Buffalo Wild Wings to Open Friday

The eatery will open its doors at 11 a.m.

The big day has finally arrived as Buffalo Wild Wings opens on Route 58 in Riverhead Friday.

"Finally," said general manager Andrew Shuett on Thursday. "We're excited to be open."

The opening was delayed for just under two months, and some customers were angry over the wait, Schuett said.

"We understand," he said. "We look at it as a good thing, that they want us to be here. We're happy to see that the community is really excited about us being here."
The restaurant will be open Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 1 a.m., and on Sunday from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m.

"We're anticipating a good weekend," Schuett said

The staff — Schuett said he lost approximately 25 percent of those originally hired during the waiting period — has been given some refresher training in advance of the big day. "We want to give them a chance to shine," he said.

Recently, just days before the Super Bowl, it was a touchdown for Buffalo Wild Wings as news came that the green light had been given for the opening.

According to Grace Kelly-McGovern, spokesperson for the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, final approval allowing the new restaurant to open was granted on last Tuesday.

"The restaurant can open immediately once approved. DHS was waiting for the final 'as built' plans, which we received yesterday," Kelly-McGovern wrote in an email to Patch.

For weeks, eager customers waited for news of the big opening. In December, the opening was delayed, according to general manager Schuett.

While he assured that the business would still open, the new opening date had not yet been determined at that time, he said.

At least one resident, who asked not to be named, was upset about the delay. 
"The customers lined up for their chance to win a year of free wings but were turned away," the resident wrote.

But according to Schuett, "There is no validity to that statement." Schuett said the first 100 customers to line up did, in fact, receive their year of free wings — and only those who came after the first 100 were told they had already reached 100 guests; those that came later still received coupons, he said.
Riverhead resident Louise Wilkinson said she got her free wings for a year, as did two others with her — and all the other wings fans she met in line.

"We were at Buffalo Wild Wings the day they were supposed to open," she said. "Everyone on line got their wings coupon. And the guy was so sweet and helpful. Workers were also allowed in and were sitting at tables and at a training when we went in to pick up our booklets."

A staffer came out very 15 minutes or so to distribute the coupon books to whoever added the line, she said. "It was organized and pleasant," she said.

The free wings for a year came via a coupon book, with a coupon for six free wings per week; with a coupon for every week; the book even has a magnet on the back so it can be hung on a refrigerator, she said.

"We're happy to be in Riverhead," Schuett said. "The town has done everything to accomodate us in the best way possible."

The new Buffalo Wild Wings will be located in the shopping plaza on Route 58 where Dick's Sporting Goods, Five Below, and the Christmas Tree Shops andThat! recently opened their doors.


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