The new restaurant, which is celebrating its grand opening on November 15th, will be located at 980 Second Ave in New York City.
Atomic Wings, the emerging chicken wing concept that serves all-natural, hormone-free wings alongside 16 proprietary flavors, is opening a new location in Manhattan. Multi-unit franchisee Fahad Samad has decided to relocate his previous Manhattan Atomic Wings location, which operated as a commissary kitchen from a bar on the corner of 49th Street and Second Ave, to a storefront restaurant at 980 Second Ave. The grand opening will take place on November 15th.
To celebrate, the restaurant will host a grand opening event between 10 a.m. and midnight. The first 100 guests will receive free fries, with all other guests who visit Atomic Wings’ new location on the 15th able to receive free fries with every wings purchase. Additionally, the restaurant will host a raffle, with the lucky winner receiving a 65-inch flat-screen TV. Only give guests will be allowed in the restaurant at a time in order to adhere to COVID-19 safety standards.
“Although our previous Manhattan location did well, due to COVID-19 and bars being shut down, we knew we had to move out of our previous location,” said Samad. “Instead of finding another commissary kitchen, we decided that now was the time to upgrade to a storefront and were lucky enough to find a perfect site only a few blocks away.”
Samad started his career as an analyst with Topps Trading Cards, where he has worked for over eight years. Before opening his first Atomic Wings and bringing crispy, tender, halal wings to New York, Samad said he had little interest in franchising at all. He notes that it was his conversation with CEO Zak Omar and his general love for the delicious product that sold him on the idea. Over the last two years, he’s opened three Atomic Wings locations across New York, marrying his love of sports and satisfying wings to make game time enjoyable for his community.
“One of the things that drives Atomic Wings sales in Manhattan is the sports season, especially football,” said Samad. “Downtown, sports restaurants are a huge business, and we are confident that this location will be able to tap into that segment. In addition, we want to capture walk-in customers, which we never had before because we were in the basement of a bar. Now that we have a storefront, we will be able to leverage the high foot traffic in the area. Of course, we know that customers are changing and the demand for delivery and take-out has never been stronger. At this new location, we will continue to meet that demand while also promoting our catering option to appeal to larger groups who are ordering food for delivery in the area.”
Omar notes that Fahad is an important part of the Atomic Wings team and that the new Manhattan storefront is going to be a great step forward for the brand as it looks to expand across the East Coast and beyond through franchising. “Our goal is to expand locally within the Northeast before we think about expanding outward,” he said. “We pride ourselves on getting everything right with our wings, from the nitty-gritty details in our ingredients to the overall big picture of our customer-service process. Expansion shouldn’t mean that we forfeit that customer value, and our franchisees are all committed to that vision.”
With 11 locations currently open in New York and Maryland and 10 additional units signed in Arizona and Nevada, Atomic Wings is capitalizing on its decades-long success with the goal of taking its fan favorite recipes to cities across the country.
For more information about Atomic Wings, please visit https://www.atomicwings.com/franchising.
Atomic Wings was created in 1989 out of founder Adam Lippin’s mission to share authentic New York-style Buffalo wings with the world. Now, with more than 10 restaurants open in the U.S., Atomic Wings is setting its sights on nationwide growth. In addition to its existing locations in New York and Maryland, Atomic Wings has 10 additional units signed to open in Arizona and Nevada. The brand is currently led by owners and brothers Zak and Ray Omar, and offers customers never-frozen, natural and hormone-free chicken wings hand-tossed in more than 14 proprietary sauces, a classic menu, a welcoming dining experience and a commitment to quality. For more information about Atomic Wings, please visit https://www.atomicwings.com/franchising.
