Chicken chain Wingstop announces the opening of its 3,000th restaurant globally, accelerating the brand toward its vision of becoming a Top 10 Global Restaurant Brand with more than 10,000 restaurants worldwide.

Wingstop reached this milestone at a record pace, opening nearly 800 restaurants and expanding its global footprint by 50% in two years. During this time, Wingstop entered six new markets: Australia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia and The Netherlands. Wingstop now operates in 47 US states and 15 countries, and expects to soon open in Thailand, Italy and Ireland as the brand scales toward its long-term growth goals.

"With a record pipeline of sold restaurant commitments, Wingstop shows no sign of slowing down," said Wingstop's President and CEO, Michael Skipworth. "We've scaled from 2,000 to 3,000 restaurants in just over two years, with proven runway in our domestic and international businesses. This milestone demonstrates the strength of our brand, the whitespace ahead and the global craving for Wingstop's bold flavor."

Wingstop's development momentum continues to be fueled by cash-on-cash returns and strong interest from existing franchisees, with more than 70 brand partners expanding their Wingstop footprint in the last quarter.

Source: Wingstop