Capriotti's Sandwich Shop's Historic Year of Growth, Innovation and Profitability Culminates with Blockbuster Announcement to Acquire Wing Zone

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, the award-winning national restaurant franchise, announced today that it has finalized the acquisition of the QSR industry's rising star, Wing Zone – a fast-casual brand serving made-to-order, flavor-packed chicken wings designed as the perfect delivery food. Capping off of an impressive year, the Wing Zone acquisition marks a momentous turning point for the fast-casual brand and continues to cement the fan-favorite sandwich shop's place at the forefront of the industry.

Even amidst the pandemic, Capriotti's achieved incredible success in 2020, quickly overcoming never-before-seen obstacles impacting the restaurant industry and providing its franchise partners second-to-none support from start to finish. Capriotti's has remained committed to innovation, growth and profitability which continues to propel the brand forward as it closes out another record year on all fronts. Highlights from 2020 include: 

• INNOVATION:
• Rolled out the first Impossible Meat Cheese Steak and partnered with Snake River Farms to introduce a new line up of American Wagyu beef subs at shops across the nation.
• Introduced virtual brands that serve reimagined versions of extraordinary classic subs to fans through online delivery platforms like GrubHub, Postmates and DoorDash.
• Opened the brand's first corporate ghost kitchens in Los Angeles and Pasadena, CA; introduced the ghost kitchen franchise opportunity enabling franchise partners to satisfy a growing consumer demand for delivery, catering and online ordering while avoiding brick and mortar shop rental rates. Ghost kitchen franchises are already open and under development in Columbus, OH, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Portland, Austin and Miami.
• Partnered with Reef Kitchens to open the first vessel in Baltimore.
• GROWTH:
• Opened 18 high-performing new shops this year – many during the midst of the pandemic - marking 115 shops open with an additional 210 in development, 30+ of which will open in 2021.
• Signed 24 multi-unit franchise agreements to bring a total of 106 new restaurants across the United States in the coming years in new markets like Miami, Philadelphia, Denver, New York City and more.
• PROFITABILITY:
• Reported best in class double-digit same-store sales increases throughout the year - solidifying Capriotti's financial performance in the top 2% of the entire restaurant industry.

"This year has presented a unique set of challenges for restaurants nationwide and Capriotti's was no exception. I am incredibly grateful for the commitment and support of our franchise partners and their teams for their dedication to helping Capriotti's safely serve communities across the country," said Ashley Morris, CEO of Capriotti's. "While 2020 has been filled with hurdles, it's been one of the most rewarding and successful years in the history of the organization. We're looking forward to growing from here!"

Looking ahead, Capriotti's shows no signs of slowing. The fan-favorite fast casual franchise has announced the completed acquisition of Wing Zone, a fast-casual wing concept living out its mission to make it easy to get flavorful food worldwide. With the acquisition, Capriotti's is committed to leveraging its best-in-class leadership, sophisticated organizational structure and strategic partners in order to protect, enhance and promote the success of Wing Zone and invest in the future of the growing brand.

Capriotti's and Wing Zone share a mutual focus on serving fans and flavor-seekers across the nation the highest quality products both in-store and off-premise – as demand for delivery and online ordering skyrockets. Between Capriotti's tech-forward strategy, infrastructure and profitability, and Wing Zone's innovative delivery systems that cater to the rising demand for off-premise dining, both brands will bring each other a tremendous depth of service, meant to cement Capriotti's and Wing Zone as top players in the fast-casual sector.

"The acquisition is a natural fit for both brands, as Capriotti's and Wing Zone share many of the same internal values and organizational goals," said Morris, who is now the CEO of Wing Zone as well. "We look forward to leveraging our expertise in franchising, operational excellence and technology with Wing Zone's off-premise experience to help both brands continue to grow. We are thrilled to welcome Wing Zone into the Capriotti's family and are excited about what lies ahead."

Collectively, Capriotti's and Wing Zone are rounding out 2020 with more than $100M in system-wide sales, and have plans to grow forward together, serving high quality handmade subs and fresh, flavorful wings to more than 150 communities globally and counting. 

About Capriotti's Sandwich Shop
Founded in 1976, Capriotti's Sandwich Shop is an award-winning national franchised restaurant chain that remains true to its 40-year tradition of slow-roasting whole, all-natural turkeys in-house every day. Capriotti's cold, grilled and vegetarian subs, cheese steaks and salads are available at more than 100 locations across the United States. Capriotti's signature sub, The Bobbie®, was voted "The Greatest Sandwich in America" by thousands of readers across the country, as reported by AOL.com. Capriotti's fans can also download the CAPAddicts Rewards app for iOS and Android, where they can earn and redeem rewards. Capriotti's plans to grow to over 500 locations by 2025, and was ranked #17 on Fast Casual's Top Movers & Shakers List for 2020. For more information, visit capriottis.com. Like Capriotti's on Facebook, follow on Twitter or Instagram.

About Wing Zone
Wing Zone is the go-to fast-casual restaurant for made-to-order, authentic buffalo wings. Made for flavor lovers, Wing Zone offers a variety of proprietary flavors and sauces for its wings that are easy to order and accurate every time. The idea for the concept started in 1991 when two fraternity brothers, Matt Friedman and Adam Scott wanted to fill the void on their campus for authentic, flavorful wings. The very first WingZone store opened in 1993 and today, the brand has grown to 31 locations in North America with 36 internationally. The brand is continuing to grow through franchising - for more information about the WingZone franchise opportunity, visit wingzonefranchise.com.

Media Contact: Marissa Pasillas, Fishman Public Relations, 847-945-1300, or [email protected]

SOURCE Capriotti's Sandwich Shop

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