New (Jumbo Chicken) Wings for Old Time Location
MISSION, April 14, 2021 — After sorting through roughly 100 potential sites for its flagship location, Jefferson’s Franchise Systems, LLC decided the company’s up and coming quick service brand would begin life in a small building in a historic district of Mission, Kansas. Previously, Pride Cleaners dry cleaning did business here but had been closed for years, leaving the corner empty of visitors, bringing no traffic or revenue to the spot.
The initial WingStand concept began many years ago when now Jefferson’s Franchise Systems President and CEO Brandon Graham noticed an opportunity in the fastest growing category in the quick service restaurant business – the chicken segment, which has grown dramatically over the past year and continues to trend that way.
But the environmental concerns of operating a food service business out of a former dry cleaning site (and a gas station before that), required WingStand by Jefferson’s to take on somewhat of a passion project at the corner of Johnson Drive and Nall Avenue in order to get things safely and precisely up to code.
WingStand is not just another new chicken place in town. Rehabilitating this more than 70-year-old building – and the entire footprint on which it sits – will bring precisely what the City of Mission leadership looks for through the creation of new local business partnerships, increased pedestrian traffic, improved parking and an overall contribution to the revitalization of the area.
From planning, testing and finalizing the menu, to the boots-on-the ground community engagement, to marketing and execution of the operations of the business and complete rehabilitation of the property – being the first ever WingStand location comes with some exceptionally high standards. The care that goes into the right logo, signage and the mural, the yard art, and the functional indoor and outdoor layout is not to be taken with a grain of salt. Notable is the design and installation of a 6-foot chicken, commissioned by KC area artists, that may or may not have you doing a double-take, or at least stopping in for a double-dipped chicken sandwich and a selfie.
We’re clucking excited to bring new life to this well-known and busy little intersection just begging for some hot wings and love!
The first WingStand is slated for opening late Summer 2021.
