Wingstop, the popular chicken wing restaurant, is expanding in New Jersey. The newest location is in Aberdeen, with planned locations for Eatontown, Freehold, and Toms River. They also opened a new store in Deptford recently. The Neptune location opened in December.

The aviation-themed restaurant chain is headquartered in Texas and has over 1,500 locations worldwide. According to the Asbury Park Press, Wingstop flourished during the pandemic by focusing on its take-out and delivery operations. Its main competitor, Buffalo Wild Wings, focuses more on the dine-in experience at its restaurants.

The chain is known for its chicken wings with various rubs and sauces; some of the sauces are: Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, Lemon Pepper, Mild, Original Hot, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Atomic, Mango Habanero, Cajun, Louisiana Rub, and Spicy Korean Q. The company’s tagline is: Where Flavor Gets its Wings.

The new Aberdeen location is located on Rte. 35 in the Aberdeen Plaza; the Toms River store will be in the Toms River Shopping Center and is scheduled to open at the end of October. The Freehold restaurant will be in the Colonial Plaza.

In response to the nationwide chicken wing shortage, Wingstop launched the virtual “Thighstop” menu; as you might guess, instead of wings, they use chicken thighs with a variety of rubs and sauces. Thighstop doesn’t have any brick and mortar locations; you can only order them for DoorDash delivery. The shortage of wings is due to increased demand because of the pandemic; according to CNN, Wingstop’s business grew 21% in 2020.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.

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