Matt Weir/The Collegian
Excitement was in the air as Fresno and Clovis residents young and old camped out in front of Buffalo Wild Wings for the highly anticipated grand-opening of the restaurant.
The first 100 customers in line will win free chicken wings for an entire year today when the restaurant opens at 11:00 a.m.
Several vehicles passing by the restaurant honked their horns at those who waited, which generated even more enthusiasm.
Among the youngest was 3-year-old Aaliyah, the first person in line. She and her grandparents have been waiting in front of the restaurant since 5 p.m. Saturday night.
Her grandmother, who wished to remain anonymous, was excited about the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant opening in Fresno. She raved about the food and the variety of choices the restaurant offers.
“They have good burgers, wings, salads, even fish,” she said.
Several others showed up with nothing but the clothes on their back, as they ventured over to the establishment from the Save Mart Center’s Freestyle Motocross event on Saturday night.
“I came out of the Save Mart Center last night from motocross and I saw the line” Ronald Woodard said. He has been waiting in line since 9:45 p.m. on Saturday. “I came out here with nothing, basically. I slept on the ground with no blanket until three in the morning.”
Woodard became a fan of Buffalo Wild Wings during a visit to one of the restaurants in New York.
While some spent the night in the cold weather and fog, the majority of the people waiting outside arrived after noon today. Most came prepared with tents, blankets and entertainment, including board games, video games, laptops and guitars. One group even brought a couch with them.
“We knew we were going to come because we saw the signs,” Meaghan McCarthy said, who is a student at Willow International. She and her friends, who brought a couch and some board games at the last minute, had been waiting since around noon on Sunday. “Broke college students love free stuff.
We won’t have to spend money on groceries for a while.”
The restaurant staff went above and beyond to accommodate those who were anxiously waiting for opening day. On Saturday night, the restaurant prepared tacos for the first families who were waiting outside and turned on the electricity so customers could plug in their portable heaters to stay warm.
On Sunday the staff turned their outside TVs on so patrons could watch the NFL playoff games. There was even word that they were going to prepare more food for last night’s waiting crowd, and that a representative from Red Bull would be stopping by.
The mood of the crowd was highly spirited, and no one interviewed reported any problems. Those who have eaten there say it’s definitely worth the wait.
“I became familiar with Buffalo Wild Wings when I was based at Fort Bragg,” Matthew King said. “My buddy knew about it, so we decided to come camp for it and get the free wings.”
King has been waiting since 10 a.m. on Sunday.
The restaurant is opening across the street from the Dog House Grill, whose only competition before Buffalo Wild Wings was Jack in the Box. Matt Billingsley, general manager for Dog House Grill, is not only unconcerned about the competition, but is very enthusiastic about it.
“We definitely have to stay on our toes,” he said. “But we’re excited about the competition.”
Billingsley says that business usually stays pretty steady, even during winter and summer break when students are not on campus.
The restaurant generated excitement in December when they first began the hiring process. Nearly 3,000 applied for positions, but the restaurant was expected to hire only a staff of between 100 and 150.
Buffalo Wild Wings, which opened its first store in Columbus, Ohio in 1981, currently has more than 700 restaurants nationwide. Before the Fresno restaurant was built, the closest establishment was located in Modesto.