Wings Etc. Announces Supplier-Vendor Relationship with Gordon Food Service
Among the benefits of consolidating procurement across the brand’s 80 locations is an anticipated cost savings in excess of $1 million in the first 12 months
FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Wings Etc. Grill & Pub has announced an agreement to enter into a supplier-vendor relationship with Gordon Food Service.
Of the brand’s 80 locations in the Midwest and South, 75 are now supplied by Gordon Food Service. The exceptions of Dexter, Missouri; Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Jackson, Missouri; Springfield, Missouri; and Topeka, Kansas, are supplied by SGC Foodservice. SGC is part of the same buying group that Gordon Food Service participates in and has agreed to the same contract that Wings Etc. signed with Gordon Food Service.
Gordon Food Service began supplying Wings Etc. on November 18, 2024. The agreement between Gordon Food Service and Wings Etc. is a three-year contract.
The switch is estimated to save Wings Etc. in excess of $1 million in the first year and provides a number of benefits and efficiencies for the brand, which had been served by five different suppliers: Stanz Foodservice Inc., Kohl Wholesale, Ben E. Keith, US Foods and PFG / Merchants Foodservice.
“With Gordon Food Service, we can ship out consistent product across the board,” said Eric Stuczynski, chief procurement and development officer and president of The Wings Etc. Foundation. “We’re using nine different distribution centers, but they all stock the same product, and that’s huge for us. We can better control the pricing and better communicate the pricing to locations.”
The buying power of Gordon Food Service, which had $21 billion in revenue in 2024 is significantly larger than Wings Etc.’s current suppliers, also allowing Wings Etc. to enjoy better pricing on goods.
Consistency has been another major benefit of the new relationship with Gordon Food Service. With one supplier, the brand can establish uniform recipes, standard operating procedures, chemical programs and material data safety sheets nationwide. And consistent pricing among distribution centers allows Wings Etc. to better track costs and make decisions on menu pricing.
Consolidating procurement also has the advantage of streamlining important data.
“Gordon Food Service uses ArrowStream supply chain software, which allows us to collect data from all their distribution centers and analyze it more quickly and easily than before,” Stuczynski said. “We were getting data from different companies, and the item numbers were different. Now it’s consistent. We’re also able to track inventory levels in all the distribution centers, as well as purchase orders that are coming in. The logistics amongst all of the distribution centers under Gordon Food Service is much better.”
Gordon Food Service allows for greater flexibility for Wings Etc. as well. “For instance, if we run out of a product in the distribution center in Shepardsville, Indiana, we can secure it from another distribution center through the Gordon Food Service network, and they can move that product around, making sure that all of our stores are well equipped,” Stuczynski said.
“Additionally, there are more than 175 GFS Marketplaces across the nation. So if a store needs to buy lettuce, or they’re out of cups, they’re going to be able to go into a Marketplace near them and purchase at the contracted pricing.”
The agreement comes with ancillary benefits. With an in-house chef and menu development department, Gordon Food Service offers expertise in menu ideation, helping further Wings Etc.’s commitment to menu items with “Big Flavor.” Wings Etc. also anticipates even better product quality with a larger number of vendor resources from Gordon Food Service. All new, comparable products introduced during the transition have been viewed, tasted and approved by Wings Etc.
Stuczynski said that the switch was necessary for the future of the fast-growing franchise company.
“We appreciate the long-standing relationships that we’ve built with our existing suppliers,” Stuczynski said. “Jim Weaver, our founder, worked with Stanz Foodservice when he started the company in 1994. They’ve done a great job of helping us grow throughout the years. They really helped us build our whole procurement department early on, and they’ve been an integral part of who we are. All of our suppliers have been fantastic; I can’t say enough about them. Our decision was based on the need to streamline the whole distribution process and make it more effective and more efficient.”
Each Wings Etc. location has created an account with Gordon Food Service and has been assigned a customer service representative; has been surveyed for a new chemical system as well as soap and dispensers; and has received an order and delivery schedule.
Stuczynski says that Wings Etc. worked with Gordon Food Service in the 1990s and early 2000s and has continued the conversation until now because their mission and purpose are aligned with that of Wings Etc. “Their DNA is intertwined with our DNA,” he said, “so we’re very excited to form this partnership with them.”
###
About Wings Etc. Grill & Pub
Founded in 1994 by Jim Weaver in northern Indiana, Wings Etc. is a family-friendly grill and pub featuring award-winning jumbo Buffalo wings, 22 signature sauces and rubs, dozens of TVs tuned to sports programming and a casual, non-corporate-y, laid-back vibe that makes people want to just come in and hang out. See wingsetc.com.
With over 80 corporate and franchise locations, Wings Etc. has been listed among Entrepreneur magazine’s “Top 500 Franchises” every year since 2021 and was included in the magazine’s “Top Five Best Sports Bars” in 2021. It has been named one of Franchise Business Review’s “Top Food Franchises” every year since 2020 and a “Top 200 Franchise” every year since 2019. Wings Etc. has been included in Franchise Gator’s “Top 100 Franchises” seven times since 2014 and its “Fastest Growing Franchises” seven times since 2016; it was among the “Top Emerging Franchises” in 2023. It has been named a “Top 400 Franchise” by Franchise Times every year since 2021 and a “Top 500 Franchise” by Nation’s Restaurant News every year since 2021. See www.wingsetcfranchise.com.
The Wings Etc. Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to improving children’s lives. See www.wingsetcfoundation.com.
©2025 Wings Etc., Inc. Franchises independently owned and operated.
Photos courtesy of Wings Etc. Grill and Pub
Photo 1: Eric Stuczynski, chief procurement and development officer at Wings Etc. Grill and Pub.
Section: Corporate News Expansion