Atomic Wings to Launch Chicken Wing Segment's First Drive-Thru Location

Atomic Wings, an emerging franchise with dozens of locations, was created with a mission to share authentic New York-style Buffalo wings with the world. Over the past two years, Atomic Wings has been growing faster than ever due to its well-positioned concept, beloved consumer offering and commitment to innovation. Now, the brand is continuing to adapt to the changing landscape of the restaurant industry and gearing up to revolutionize the chicken wing segment by opening its — and the entire chick wing segment’s — first-ever drive-thru location.

“Drive-thrus are on the cutting edge of the wing industry,” said Atomic Wings CEO Zak Omar. “Wings generally take about 16 to 20 minutes to cook, and we're getting that process down to about under four minutes. We are going to be the first major wing restaurant franchise to offer a drive-thru — no other players are doing this.”

The first Atomic Wings location to offer a drive-thru will be in Hagerstown, Maryland, with a grand opening. In general, Omar says drive-thru has traditionally performed best in the fast-food space, but as the QSR industry continues to change following the pandemic, the added level of convenience is becoming a necessity across every segment.

“Brands everywhere have been adding extra lanes to their drive-thru, while dine-in spaces are getting smaller and smaller,” said Omar. “That is where the demographics are headed in America. We want quick service, and we want it faster than ever.”

Omar says he is confident that once Atomic Wings proves drive-thru is possible in the chicken wing segment, many copy-cats will follow. But he says he isn’t worried — the brand’s great food, proprietary sauces and outstanding customer service will continue to separate it from the competition.

“When we first started looking into franchise opportunities to diversify our portfolio beyond Dunkin’, we looked at every brand in the wing space. What drew us to Atomic Wings over the competition is the fact that there’s open market availability, and the product is fresher than anything else in the space,” said the franchise group behind Atomic Wings’ first drive-thru location. “Including a drive-thru in our location is just another way to serve our customers and meet them where they want to be.”

In addition to continued innovation and a top-notch consumer experience, Omar says everything about the Atomic Wings business model has been streamlined to make franchise owners more profitable.

“From the buildout to the service model, Atomic Wings has developed a system that allows owners to recoup their investments and grow faster,” said Omar. “Franchising an Atomic Wings requires minimal space and has great adaptable systems in place that are ready to replicate. Atomic Wings deliberately kept the buildout costs low enough so that franchisees can recoup their investment in about three years, making them much more profitable much quicker.”

Atomic Wings franchisees also benefit from a close relationship with the brand’s corporate team. An exceptional support infrastructure has helped Atomic Wings franchisees grow faster than franchisees at other fast-casual brands — and word is spreading. Atomic Wings’ strong consumer offering and winning business model has earned the brand recognition on national television, including The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CNN Money, CBS News and more.

Now, Atomic Wings is ready to expand into other cities and is looking for owners who are hands-on, believe in service excellence to the customer, are passionate about the food and love interacting with people. 

“Ground-floor opportunities only last so long, and there will never be a better time to become part of the Atomic Wings Family,” said Omar. “We’ve been doing this for 30 years, long before the vast majority of our competitors, so we know what works. That goes for both the product — what our customers are looking for — and for the business, which has been refined and perfected over the years. Now, customers want easy, convenient, drive-thru service, and we are excited to give it to them, while also positioning our business owners for post-pandemic success.”

The total investment necessary to begin operation of an Atomic Wings restaurant is $155,900 to

$338,500. The total investment necessary to begin operation of a multi-unit developer business for a required minimum of three Atomic Wings franchises is $197,900 to $381,000. For more information, visit https://atomicwingsfranchising.com/.