On this episode of Emerging Brands, Matt Ensero, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wing It On! talks about his motivation to open a wing concept restaurant and why he opened in his hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut. Plus, he shares his pillars for achieving national success and what a franchisee can expect from Wing It On! as a partner. Ensero says, there are three factors in order to get that authentic buffalo wing, they are the crispiness of the wings, the sauce itself and the dipping sauce. He explains how Wing It On! delivers on those three factors. The poultry shortage would impact many businesses but Ensero said they were able to minimize the effects and he shares how they were able to offset that challenge. Wing It On! was able to partner with suppliers to keep costs low and was guaranteed allotment as a restaurant partner. Ensero shares his decision to become a franchise, the steps he took to become one, and what they look for in a franchisee. He wants his partners to be a fellow “wing nut” and be equally finatical about customer service. Ensero encourages first time restaurateurs and entrepreneurs to become franchisees. He also tells us what makes Wing It On! a good partner if you are looking to get into the business or are already in the restaurant industry. When talking about expansion for the brand, Wing It On! will need to graduate from what Ensero calls emerging brand university in order to become a national brand. He says, Wing It On! needs straight A’s in the eight pillars of emerging brands success. Ensero’s eight pillars are: quality of operators site selection training customer service food quality supply chain technology Marketing If you want to learn more about Wing It On! and Ensero’s plan for the future growth of the brand, be sure to listen to this episode on Emerging Brands Podcast.