Buffalo Wild Wings GO, a takeout and delivery concept that’s a spinoff of the Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar and restaurant chain, plans to open its first Pikes Peak region location this month in Fountain, south of Colorado Springs.

The location is targeted to open Jan. 30 at 6877 Mesa Ridge Parkway in the Safeway-anchored Markets at Mesa Ridge shopping center, southeast of Mesa Ridge Parkway and Fountain Mesa Road, said George Hart, CEO of the Springs-based Aesir Group that will serve as the area’s Buffalo Wild Wings GO franchisee.

“Our goal is to be open before the Super Bowl,” Hart said of the Feb. 11 National Football League championship. “You want to talk about a huge Buffalo Wild Wings day; (it’s) the Super Bowl and the playoff games, of course.”

Traditional Buffalo Wild Wings locations have large dining rooms and multiple TVs for sports watching. The GO concept is designed mostly for on-the-go customers who want convenience as well as fresh-cooked food, Hart said.

Customers can order food from digital menu boards at the GO location’s walkup counter or in advance on the Buffalo Wild Wings app or website. Orders are picked up in store or can be delivered by third-party services.

The Buffalo Wild Wings GO location in Fountain also will have about 20 seats and two TVs, Hart said. The seats will serve customers who are waiting to pick up orders, though Hart said he expects some lunch-goers to stay and eat. The dinner crowd probably will be more apt to grab and go, he said.

“If you go to a sports bar, like most sit-down restaurants, you’re going to spend an hour there,” Hart said. “I’ve got a table, I’m having a drink, I’m not in a big hurry. In the GO, we’re built to be a little bit more fast casual, so you can grab it and take it with you or grab it and sit down right here. You can order ahead. So you really save a lot of time at the GO facilities.”

Buffalo Wild Wings GO won’t have a drive-thru; GO food is made to order and takes eight to 14 minutes, which is more time than most customers want to spend waiting in their cars, Hart said.

“It’s just quicker to order ahead and come in and pick up,” he said. “If you came into a typical drive-thru, most of those are built for speed — three to five minutes. Eight to 14 minutes is a long time to wait, so a drive-thru doesn’t make sense in this particular application.”

The GO menu will offer familiar Buffalo Wild Wings items, including bone-in and boneless wings, a chicken sandwich, a chicken wrap and sides such as fries and onion rings, Hart said. The menu also will have a fresh-ground hamburger and cauliflower wings for vegan customers.

Buffalo Wild Wings and Buffalo Wild Wings GO are part of Inspire Brands, an Atlanta-based restaurant group that also owns Dunkin’, Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, Baskin Robbins and Sonic.

Hart and business partner Scott Anderson, Aesir Group’s chief development officer, are retired Army veterans who already are Inspire Brands franchisees; through their company, they own 15 Dunkin’ stores on 13 military bases in nine states, including two at Fort Carson at one at the Air Force Academy, Hart said.

He and Anderson liked Fountain as a location for the first of five Colorado Springs-area GO locations they plan to open.

With their Army backgrounds, they wanted to serve a heavily military community — both Fountain, which is close to Fort Carson, and the Springs in general, Hart said.

“Fountain was a real target for us to service that military community and the city of Fountain,” he said. “We feel like they’re slightly underserved in terms of (restaurant) choices and options.”

Hart and Anderson hope to add a Buffalo Wild Wings GO at Fort Carson as one of their five Springs-area locations, he said.

In the meantime, they plan to open a second GO location around May or June in Colorado Springs at 373 E. Fillmore St., in a building that it will share with an existing Jimmy John’s sandwich shop, Hart said.

He and Anderson also are looking at potential locations on South Academy Boulevard in the Springs and on the city’s north side.

The Buffalo Wild Wings GO in Fountain will be the fifth in Colorado, joining locations in Glendale, Lafayette, Parker and Westminster, an Inspire Brands spokesperson said via email.

Buffalo Wild Wings also has 26 of its traditional sports bar and restaurant locations in the state, including three in Colorado Springs, according to the chain’s website.

Buffalo Wild Wings GO was launched in 2020 as a takeout and delivery-focused concept, according to restaurant industry publications. As more consumers prefer takeout and to-go ordering, the GO model “takes full advantage of the popularity of off-premises dining, as well as the growth of the chicken segment,” Buffalo Wild Wings’ website says.

“Our takeout and delivery business grew significantly over the past two years as guests across America enjoyed our award-winning wings, sauces and other menu items in a way that is convenient to them,” the Inspire Brands spokesperson said. 

A Buffalo Wild Wings GO outlet similar to this one from another market is set to open by mid-February in Fountain, south of Colorado Springs. Buffalo Wild Wings GO, which specializes in takeout and delivery will be part of the Safeway-anchored Markets at Mesa Ridge shopping center, southeast of Mesa Ridge Parkway and Fountain Mesa Road. COURTESY INSPIRE BRANDS