Diversified Restaurant Holdings Inc., the leading franchisee for Buffalo Wild Wings, announced that it has signed an agreement and is moving ahead with plans to open its sixth Buffalo Wild Wings store in Florida. This is the company's 19th location under its agreement with Buffalo Wild Wings to operate a total of 38 locations in Michigan and Florida by 2017.
The new restaurant will be part of The Forum at Fort Myers, a 700-plus acre master-planned, mixed-use development featuring upscale shopping, dining and entertainment along with residential and commercial space. Other co-tenants include Bed, Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Books A Million, Five Guys, Home Depot, Staples, Starbucks Subway and Target.
Construction on the new store is expected to begin in August with a targeted opening date of November 2010. The Fort Myers store will be the company's third BWW restaurant opening in 2010. DRH previously announced new BWW stores in Marquette and Chesterfield, Mich. The Marquette store is expected to open this weekend and the Chesterfield store has a planned August opening.
Michael Ansley, president and CEO of DRH, said there are more than 100,000 shoppers, with an estimated income of more than $100,000, within a five-mile radius of the shopping center.
"Our recently executed $6 million development line of credit has afforded us the opportunity to enter the rapidly growing Fort Myers market as part of The Forum at Fort Myers," Ansley said.
"Looking ahead, we plan to evaluate other potential BWW locations in both Michigan and Florida and plan to continue the expansion of our Bagger Dave's concept, both through corporate-owned locations and future franchise arrangements."
