Wings Etc. Franchisee Shares Playbook for Winning at Off-Premise Growth

Yogesh Patel’s emphasis on consistency, hospitality and loyalty — and a willingness to redeliver an order himself —place him among the top in the Wings Etc. system and in DoorDash metrics nationwide.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — It doesn’t take a degree in biomedical engineering to put up big numbers in the restaurant industry. But it doesn’t hurt.

Yogesh Patel is a biomedical engineer by profession; in fact, he still works for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office part time, and he’s one of the most senior patent examiners. He also has a degree in management.

But as a kid, his happy place was in restaurants, going out to eat with his family — TVs and music and people having a great time.

So in 2010, when Patel was among select federal workers permitted to work from home, he felt like he was withering on the vine. It was good money and a good life, Patel said, but as a 20-something, it didn’t feel great to be alone all day.

One day his brother came to visit him in Washington, DC, and suggested they open a business together. They began in Tennessee, opening a diner concept in 2014. “I spent the first couple years learning the business and understanding the restaurant space,” Patel says. “And once I felt comfortable, I decided that I need to focus on what I really enjoy doing. So I started searching for a sports bar.”

Patel says he visited every franchise brand in the United States and interviewed almost everyone. The brand he found most compelling was Wings Etc. “It was easy to understand, and the people are the best. They are very brilliant,” he says. “The corporate people introduced me to a lot of different franchisees. You know who’s already in the business. I talked to all of them. Everybody’s so transparent. I hadn’t gotten that kind of response from any of the brands.”

Today, by all measures, Patel is crushing carryout at his Wings Etc. restaurant in Mayfield, Kentucky. He’s adapted to the changing landscape for full-service restaurants and made off-premise dining a focus. Rigorous and methodical, Patel leaves nothing to chance and seeks to make off-premise customers feel as satisfied and valued as diners. He also gets to work in an atmosphere where he’s surrounded by bright childhood memories and happy guests.

As full-service restaurants adapt to an increasingly off-premise customer, Patel is treating delivery and carryout with the same operational discipline and hospitality as dine-in — and his performance data shows what that approach can produce.

Carryout by the Numbers

• Year-to-date, carryout at Patel’s restaurant increased by 2.3 percentage points, representing 13.6% growth over last year.
• The Mayfield restaurant’s average delivery time on DoorDash is 27.2 minutes.
  • That’s among the top three fastest in the Wings Etc. system from August 2025 to August 2026.
• The location’s DoorDash Missing or Incorrect rate is just 1.88% from August 2025 to August 2026.
  • That puts it among the three stores with the lowest Missing or Incorrect rate in the Wings Etc. system.
  • The DoorDash Missing or Incorrect rate measures the percentage of delivered orders with at least one item marked missing or incorrect; DoorDash says that ideally, merchants should hold a Missing or Incorrect rate of less than 2.25%.
• The average avoidable Dasher wait time at Patel’s restaurant was just 1.4 minutes from August 2025 to August 2026.
  • That’s better than the average yearly performance of the top 20 percent of merchants on DoorDash.
  • Avoidable Dasher wait time is the extra time Dashers wait at pickup after the stated prep time has passed. Most stores average under three minutes and 24 seconds of avoidable Dasher wait time. An ideal target is less than two minutes, DoorDash says.
• The Mayfield restaurant’s Avoidable Cancellation Rate was only 0.07% from August 2025 to August 2026.
  • His store’s performance ranks among the top 5 in the Wings Etc. system.
  • Out of every 10,000 orders Patel’s store receives, only about 7 are canceled due to reasons within his control (such as out-of-stock items or outdated store hours).
  • The DoorDash goal is less than 1.1%.

The Off-Premise Playbook

Working the system: “For to-go orders, we have a system in place,” Patel says. “We don’t let just anyone grab the food and put it together. It starts with the designated person on the expeditor. It’s my managers about 80 percent of the time, and we also have designated trained personnel at the expo who prepare the food. Every order is verified by that person. The additional materials — napkins, forks and knives, ketchup packets and all the necessary things — are packaged separately, rather than thrown in a bag where the customer has to dig it out. Hot stays with hot and cold stays with cold. Organization is everything during peak periods.”

Packaging properly: “We use the Wings Etc. logo packaging — large brown paper bags and sturdy plastic vented containers — that keep hot food hot and cold foods separated to maintain freshness during transport.”

Remaining reliable: “Consistency! Consistency! Consistency! We treat every takeout order with the same care as a dine-in experience. Guests know they’ll receive hot, accurate food, fast service and friendly interactions every time.”

Pursuing additional angles: “Number one, we’re heavily focused on getting things right. Number two, we are marketing digitally pretty heavily as well. Our goal is to stay in front of customers at all times. We participate in DoorDash marketing efforts, for example. But most importantly, when we do get the orders, our job is to get it right every single time.”

Making up for (rare) delays: “Dashers and guests love coming in here, picking up their food and going. If they’re ever waiting longer than expected during pickup, we offer some drinks to make them more comfortable.”

Responding to feedback — fast: “We use the Wings Etc. portal where online reviews are collected. I and my franchise director see and respond to them almost immediately. Customers get heard. If there’s an issue, we resolve it. If there’s positive feedback, we thank them.”

Going the extra miles: “If there’s a mistake, we apologize and immediately offer to remake their order. I have offered to personally drop it off. It doesn’t happen often, but I’ve done it.”

Of course, great carryout service doesn’t exist in a vacuum. High marks for carryout translate into strong loyalty, which often begins in the restaurant. Patel’s results reflect his efforts:

• From August 2025 to August 2026, Wings Rewards members checked in at his location or placed orders via the Rewards app 4.6 times.
  • The Wings Etc. system average is 4.2 times.
• Over that same period, Wings Rewards members spent 36.33% more than non-loyalty members at his location.
  • The average spend lift systemwide is 14.71%.
  • Mayfield is among the top five in the Wings Etc. system on a location-by-location basis with a spend lift this high.

Patel identifies four key tactics for fostering the loyalty that keeps his Wings Etc. restaurant top of mind for customers whether they want to dine in or order carryout:

Education is essential: “Making customers aware of the Wings Rewards loyalty program starts with our servers. When guests are dining in, we encourage our servers and bartenders to have the guests scan their receipt to earn Rewards points. We started this process about a year or two ago, and it has grown quite a bit. So we are now seeing a lot of diners coming through the loyalty program because they’re always getting rewarded.”

Rebranding is reinforcing: The recent rebranding of Wings Etc. to-go orders reinforces that Wings Etc. is more than a dine-in restaurant. It reminds guests that ordering ahead is fast, convenient and easy.

The app is where it’s at: “We encourage guests to order direct. The Wings Rewards app makes it easy for guests to reorder and allows customers to earn Rewards points.

What they’re doing today that they weren’t doing two years ago: “We’re more focused on digital ordering, loyalty enrollment, order accuracy and actively managing guest reviews and online feedback. This is how we build loyalty: We take our customer service seriously.”

Franchisee name: Yogesh Patel

Number of units: 1

Location: 1109 Paris Road, Mayfield KY 42066

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About Wings Etc.

Founded in 1994 by Jim Weaver in northern Indiana, Wings Etc. is a brand specializing in over-the-top flavor and over-the-top value. The brand includes two concepts: the award-winning, full-service Wings Etc. Grill & Pub with sports programming and a full bar, and the nimble, quick-service restaurant Wings Etc. 2Go. Guests of both restaurants can choose and customize their Big Flavor from more than 20 delicious sauces, rubs and dips. See wingsetc.com.

With more than 80 corporate and franchise locations, Wings Etc. has enjoyed three decades of successful franchise growth. Wings Etc. has been listed among Entrepreneur magazine’s “Top 500 Franchises” and was included in the magazine’s “Top Chicken Franchises” in 2024. It has been named one of Franchise Business Review’s “Top Food Franchises” and a “Top 200 Franchise.” Wings Etc. has been included in Franchise Gator’s “Top 100 Franchises” and its “Fastest Growing Franchises”; it was among the “Top Emerging Franchises” in 2023. Wings Etc. is one of the Top 400 in Franchise Times; it has also been awarded “Best Wings” in multiple markets. See www.wingsetcfranchise.com.

The Wings Etc. Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is dedicated to improving children’s lives. Learn more at wingsetcfoundation.com.

©2026 Wings Etc., Inc. Franchises independently owned and operated.