Wing Snob’s motto is “We Just Have Better Wings.” That simple, succinct phrase not only describes the delicious food that comprises the brand’s menu, but also the driving force behind its inception.
Co-founders and close friends Jack Mashini (left) and Brian Shunia (right) discovered a demand for quality chicken wings within the quick service restaurant space. From there, Wing Snob was born in Detroit, Michigan in December of 2017. Wing Snob offers both boneless and traditional wings with a dozen signature flavor options along with tenders, cauliflower wings and sliders. Every ingredient is fresh and never frozen.
“If you build it, they will come,” Mashini said. “That could not be truer in this situation. We have a great product. People fell in love with it and the branding was on point.”
What started as four company-operated stores has swelled into 23 locations in three states -- Michigan, Texas and Ohio, as well as Canada -- in four short years with more growth looming. Wing Snob is gearing up for rapid expansion across the United States and other parts of Canada to the tune of over 100 stores over the next eight years. A large portion of this growth is being driven by people trying their food and wanting to bring a location to their local community.
Given the contents of its menu, all Wing Snob does is fry. Cooking oil is paramount to the operation and every location produces a high volume of restaurant frying oil. When Wing Snob opened its first few stores, they chose a local recycling partner who dropped off an outdoor storage bin in the parking lot. It was up to the kitchen staff to extract the oil from the fryer and pour it into the bin, equipped only with a five-gallon bucket. It eventually became a messy hazard.
“They were walking out with the bucket, spilling hot oil everywhere, slipping and falling, making a mess in the parking lot which resulted in landlords calling us,” Mashini recalled. “We thought, there has to be a better way to do this. There is no way in hell big chains like McDonald’s and Wendy’s are doing this on a daily basis. We were changing oil twice per week and sometimes three times because we weren’t even filtering back then.”
Grease hardens when it cools and so the used cooking oil has to be transferred while it’s still in liquid form. A couple of drops of spilled grease can become a painful burn. This method was a liability, both for the staff and for customers as well as an eye sore for the property. Wing Snob needed a better solution and took a recommendation from one of their franchisees to call DAR PRO Solutions to provide them with just that.
Wing Snob’s local grease recycling partner didn’t have an alternative solution. DAR PRO’s industry leading selection of storage tanks gave them a plethora of options to solve the problem.
Like most restaurant footprints, space is limited inside Wing Snob kitchens. Most of their business is takeout or delivery. There isn’t a need for a spacious layout, which could’ve made accommodating an indoor tank difficult. But with DAR PRO’s Space Saver option – a dual-functioning tank that replaces a traditional four-foot shelf rack in addition to storing over 1,300 gallons of oil – it was a seamless fit.
“The Space Saver eliminates the need to bring in a shelf and we have a dedicated place to store the oil jugs. It just made too much sense,” Mashini said.
The Space Saver is capable of direct-pump connectivity, meaning it connects directly to the fryer and can make transferring the oil into the tank as simple as a touch of a button. But Wing Snob’s fryers didn’t have direct connect capability. So, we equipped them with a portable filter machine to go with the tank that not only extracts the oil from the fryer and pumps it into the tank, but also cleans the oil to extend its frying life. The filter machine eliminated staff encountering hot used cooking oil.
“Sometimes, space is limited to the point of needing an alternative solution and we’re able to provide an outdoor tank to better fit that store’s needs,” said senior account executive Amy Matthews.
We handled the installation process from start to finish at no additional charge and provided instructions on how to operate it. One call to DAR PRO eliminated a liability for Wing Snob and made its operation more efficient.
In addition to its terrific food, Wing Snob is thriving because of efficiency and attention to detail – all the way down to readily available data regarding service volume and pickup history.
“I can track the stores in that way,” Mashini said. “I can see that if a store’s oil volume is really low compared to their sales, it means they are not changing the oil enough and that impacts the quality of our product.”
The data helps Wing Snob improve its bottom line and ensure their product meets their standards, and it also helps avoid spills and potentially hazardous messes.
As Wing Snob prepares to open dozens of stores over the next year and beyond, the brand needed a recycling provider that has invested in the tools and infrastructure to handle their growth.
DAR PRO has facilities from cost-to-coast and serves over 130,000 customers nationwide. Instead of having to find a local provider each time it enters a new market, all Wing Snob has to do is make one call to DAR PRO and their used cooking oil recycling needs are handled.
“It was refreshing to know it’s so easy when we open a store, we just call Amy and it is done with,” Mashini said. “She is always responsive and has been terrific to work with.”
Wing Snob’s skyrocketing popularity proves their slogan true: they just have better wings. By choosing DAR PRO, they found a better way to handle the oil that fries those delicious wings and found a partner capable of handling their rapid growth.
“We are growing. We need to run our business more efficiently and so we are partnering with a national vendor to run our business more productively.”
“I like that the service is automated,” Mashini said. “Previously, there were times where the bin was left because they wouldn’t expect the volume. Sometimes, there will spills when they emptied it. With DAR PRO, it’s nice and clean, they suck the oil out of there and it’s always done on time.”
“The franchisees love that there is no additional cost to have the equipment installed. The staff loves not having to carry the bucket out there. It is just an easier and more efficient way to get things done,” Mashini said. “The other way of doing it was a liability to the not only the restaurants and the staff, but to the brand as a whole. Making this move to where it just goes through a pump was a no-brainer.”
“Yes. Absolutely. In fact, I already have.”
DAR PRO Solutions is the nation’s leading provider of used cooking oil recycling services. Our proven method and expansive service reach is equipped to accommodate any rapidly growing business and make grease trap services & recycling a hassle-free process. Call us 24/7/365 at 855-DAR-PRO1 (855-548-6187).
For customer service inquiries call our toll free number (855) 327-7761
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