Justin Egan, Matt Ensero, and Robert Riddle joined forces on Chicago Sam’s Franchise GPS to break down how Craveworthy Brands is revolutionizing QSR unit economics by co-branding Fresh Brothers and Wing It On! under one roof.
In the fast-paced restaurant sector, operators face shrinking margins, rising labor costs, and increasingly competitive real estate. Solving these challenges requires a shift from standard growth playbooks toward innovative operating models.
On the latest episode of Chicago Sam’s Franchise GPS, guest host Justin Egan (VP of Growth Marketing at Craveworthy Brands) sits down withMatt Ensero (Founder & President ofWing It On!) and Robert Riddle (Regional Vice President of Operations for Fresh Brothers) to break down how co-branding these two powerhouse concepts is creating a scalable blueprint for franchisees nationwide.
"After 15 years of just gutting it out and grinding... overnight we opened up in 20 locations on the West Coast." — Matt Ensero
Expanding a restaurant brand nationally historically meant navigating years of site selection, multi-million dollar CapEx budgets, and drawn-out construction timelines.
By partnering with Craveworthy Brands, Wing It On! transformed its expansion trajectory. By co-branding inside existing Fresh Brothers locations across Southern California, the brand established a major West Coast presence practically overnight.
This strategic alignment offers several key advantages:
"The incremental cost to add Fresh Brothers into the mix compared to the top-line advantage... it's a no-brainer. You're set up to sell two brands that don't cannibalize each other out of a single box." — Matt Ensero
Traditional single-concept operators bear 100% of fixed real estate, labor, and utility costs on a single menu offering. Co-branding restructures those unit economics by running two complementary, high-demand concepts out of one kitchen footprint.
Adding a secondary brand—such as bringing Fresh Brothers into a Wing It On! unit—requires a modest $50K–$75K in leasehold improvements and equipment (like pizza ovens). In return, franchisees unlock a second major revenue driver without inflating fixed overhead:
"We're only using 100% all-natural mozzarella from Wisconsin... all-natural tomatoes out of the Central Valley... bringing in a championship-caliber wing with the best sauce truly elevates our wing to finally match the quality of our pizza." — Robert Riddle
A co-branding model only succeeds if both product lines deliver an exceptional guest experience. Many quick-service restaurants cut corners on core ingredients to preserve margins, but Fresh Brothers and Wing It On! maintain strict, uncompromised quality standards across the board.
Fresh Brothers anchors its menu with 100% all-natural Wisconsin mozzarella, vine-ripened California tomatoes picked at peak season, and fresh dough made in-house daily. To complement that standard, Craveworthy Brands integrated Wing It On!’s 11-time award-winning Buffalo sauces and scratch-made dressings.
Want more insider franchise tips? Listen to the full conversation on Episode 9 of Chicago Sam’s Franchise GPS on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!
Matt Ensero is the Founder and President of Wing It On!, the award-winning restaurant brand he launched in Waterbury, Connecticut in 2011 to fill a regional void for authentic, high-quality Buffalo wings. Leveraging his background in finance, operations, and startups, Ensero expanded the brand through franchising and guided Wing It On! to earn multiple accolades—including nine trophies for its signature sauces at the National Buffalo Wing Festival and a spot on the Inc. 5000 list. Following a strategic partnership in 2023 with Craveworthy Brands, Ensero continues to serve as Brand President of Wing It On! while also holding the role of Vice President of Operations and Development across the broader Craveworthy portfolio.
Robert Riddle serves as the Regional Vice President of Operations for Fresh Brothers, where he leads store-level operational execution, staff training, and brand standards across the company's footprint. As one of the longest-tenured leaders on the Fresh Brothers team, Riddle has overseen the brand through multiple growth phases, maintaining a focus on high-quality ingredients, community outreach, and daily store operations. In his current leadership role, he spearheaded the operational rollout of Craveworthy Brands' co-branding initiative, integrating Wing It On!'s menu into Fresh Brothers kitchens.
Gregg Majewski has a vast amount of experience as a corporate executive in the restaurant industry. As the former CEO of Jimmy John’s, he played a major role in expanding the franchise from 33 to 300+ stores in just 5 years by surrounding the company’s marketing strategy around the innovative approach of delivering sandwiches and being “freaky fast”. Majewski has worked to develop restaurant concepts over the last two plus decades, before starting Craveworthy Brands in 2023, which currently includes a growing portfolio of restaurant brands. Craveworthy Media is Majewski’s gift back to the industry that has given him so much. The goal of Craveworthy is to inspire the up and coming industry leaders by providing important information, stories, and insights from titans past and present.
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