Lakeland

Wingnutz Expanding With Lakeland Location

A menu centered on wings, sandwiches, burgers, and house-made sauces is planned at this Lakeland location.

Picture courtesy of Wingnutz.

LAKELAND, FL — Wingnutz is targeting a Wednesday, April 15 opening at 1037 Dixieland Mall Lane, Lakeland, FL 33803, pending final state approvals, CEO Chris Cavalieri told Business Debut. The Lakeland restaurant will be the brand’s fourth active location and its first in Florida.

Cavalieri said Wingnutz is bringing the same core product that built its name in Buffalo to the Florida market. “We’re taking the same exact product we have in Buffalo, New York that we’ve been extremely successful with and bringing it to the Florida market,” Cavalieri told Business Debut.

What to Expect

The Lakeland location will offer a hybrid service model with ordering at the front and an outdoor patio dining setup. The space will feature 60 covered patio seats, four TVs, picnic tables, beer and wine service, and plans for live music, Cavalieri told Business Debut.

Wingnutz will focus on chicken wings with 13 flavors, including sauces and dry rubs. Cavalieri said the brand uses fresh, never-frozen wings, and all sauces, including its blue cheese, are shared across every location.

“We let the sauce do the talking,” Cavalieri told Business Debut. “The proof’s in the sauce.”

In addition to wings, the menu will include the Mother Clucker fried chicken sandwich, smash burgers, beef on weck, fries, fried onions, mozzarella sticks and pizza logs, Cavalieri told Business Debut. He described the signature wing sauce as the brand’s top seller and said the Mother Clucker is another standout.

“It’s a giant fried chicken sandwich,” Cavalieri told Business Debut. “People eat half of it and then take the other half home.”

Cavalieri said he and chief operating officer A.J. Giordano began working with founders Ed and Alicia Wrazen in 2022 after Wingnutz temporarily closed during Ed Wrazen’s health issues. The business now includes Cavalieri, Giordano, chief marketing officer Pat Spinosa, president of operations Ethan Stack, and founders Ed and Alicia Wrazen as partners, Cavalieri told Business Debut.

Cavalieri said his background in finance and his separate business, Top Funding, helped support the company’s growth. “We took their really exceptional products and our business experience and scaled it,” Cavalieri told Business Debut.

Opening Timeline

The restaurant is targeting April 15, with a grand opening planned for May, Cavalieri told Business Debut. He said the company is also exploring additional Florida and East Coast growth opportunities, with franchising expected to begin in May.