Wingstop Restaurants, Inc. To Expand Into Phoenix

Leading chicken wing chain to bring 22 stores to the area

PHOENIX, ARIZONA (Tuesday, February 14, 2006) - Wingstop Restaurants, Inc., the leading chicken wing chain, announced today their plans for expansion in the Phoenix market with 22 new stores. These new stores will be a mix of 11 franchised stores and 11 corporate stores in addition to the existing Glendale location. This new expansion will also include the largest Wingstop to date and the first to be located in a mall.

The expansion kicked off with the Feb. 10 opening at 1229 S. Power Rd., Suite 101 (directly across from Superstition Springs Mall) in Mesa. The new Wingstop is open from 11 a.m. to midnight seven days a week and orders can be phoned in.

The next to open and largest Wingstop nationwide will be located in Spectrum Mall's North entrance at 1641 W. Bethany Home Rd. and will open later this month. At 2,400 square feet, this location will be double the size of a regular Wingstop and will have 70-80 seats to accommodate more dine-in customers and will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight daily. The store will have both interior and exterior entrances and will remain open after the mall closes in the evening.

The Wingstop brand partners leading the charge into the Phoenix market are Tracy Henry and Jacqui Brewer, owners of JTR Partnership, Inc. Long-time Wingstop franchisees, they sold two successful Wingstop units in Dallas to develop the brand in Phoenix. Their first location opened in June 2005 on Thunderbird & 59th Ave. in Glendale and the next three are under construction at Thomas & 40th St., Northern & 43rd Ave. and McDowell and 75th Ave.

"Tracy and Jacqui are very experienced Wingstop operators," said Wes Jablonski, executive vice president of business development for Wingstop. "They had expressed an interest in moving to a major market that presented expansion opportunities, as the Dallas/Fort Worth market is already maxed out. We've had our eye on Phoenix as a major Wingstop hub for some time; the demographics are great and there's no concept like ours that specializes in chicken wings like we do."

About Wingstop:

Wingstop offers restaurants with a nostalgic, aviation-themed atmosphere where the sole focus is on chicken wings. The chain now serves boneless wings that are made from 100 percent all-white meat chicken breast coated with a proprietary batter and breading. Wingstop features nine wing flavors, including Original Hot, Cajun, Atomic, Mild, Teriyaki, Lemon Pepper, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, and Hickory Smoked BBQ. The wings are always made-to-order and served steaming hot. Customers also choose from homemade side dishes: fresh-cut seasoned fries, bourbon baked beans, pearl potato salad, creamy cole slaw, vegetable sticks, rolls and assorted dipping sauces.

Wingstop has more than 450 restaurants either open or under development in 26 states and consistently tops industry growth rankings. Wingstop was chosen Festival Favorite Restaurant at the 2005 National Buffalo Wing Festival and their Cajun sauce took first place honors for the Best Creative Spicy Sauce in the festival's blind taste test. In July 2005, Wingstop ranked number 13 in Restaurant Business' Top 50 Growth Chains (ranked by percentage increase in units) and was ranked the number one chicken wing chain by Entrepreneur magazine in 2005. Troy Aikman, former Dallas Cowboy and three-time Super Bowl champion, signed on as the chain's national spokesman in 2003.

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