Buffalo Wild Wings

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Buffalo Wild Wings

Basic information
Founded	1982
Legal Structure	Subsidiary
Industry	Food
Also known as
Official website	http://buffalowildwings.com/

Buffalo Wild Wings was founded in 1982 and is a American causal dining and sports bar restaurant specializing in alcoholic beverages and chicken wings. It is a subsidiary of Inspire Brands.

Consumer-impact summary

Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):

• User Freedom
• User Privacy
• Business Model
• Market Control

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Add your text below this box. Once this section is complete, delete this box by clicking on it and pressing backspace.

Incidents

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Buffalo Wild Wings category.

Norovirus Outbreak

https://www.aboutlawsuits.com/buffalo-wild-wings-food-poisoning-94234/

Hepatitis A (2019)

On April 11. the Division of Public Health announced a Hepatitis A outbreak affecting unknown amount of customers and employees at a Delaware Middletown restaurant between March 31 through April 10. The restaurant was notified and closed on April 10 for cleaning and sanitation, after which was reopened on April 11. The next day, the Divison of Public Health issued another announcement detailing the outbreak occurred earlier and at two more restaurants located in Stone Ballon on May 20, and Pulaski Highway on March 21. In Both announcements, the Divison of Public Heath urges affected customers to call their health clinic.

Adding afford care charge

On January 1, 2015, the company implemented a extra $0.14-$0.25 charge labeled as "Afford Care" to restaurants located Lubbock Texas after a bill was passed mandating companies with at least 100 employees provide insurance to 70% of their employees. The added charge received huge backlash from consumers, with many finding it outrageous to spend an extra charge for healthcare, while others didn't mind the charge, wishing that the company provided them knowledge of the charge beforehand.

The franchise, Howard Restaurant Group, responded to the backlash on January 6, claiming it was to offset newly added employee costs due to the Healthcare Act;

"Due to the Affordable Healthcare Act and its requirements of healthcare coverage on all full time employees, the Howard Restaurant Group has decided instead of cutting back employee hours or raising food and beverage prices we have implemented a 2% surcharge on all guest checks to offset cost of the federally mandated healthcare with the least possible impact to the consumer."

However on January 7, the company director of public relations, Heather Leiferman, declared the company removed the Afford care charge, citing;

"The health care surcharge at our franchised Buffalo Wild Wings in Lubbock, TX has been removed. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused. Our priority is to always provide our guests a great experience every day so they can enjoy our wings, beer and sports,"

Point Program Contain Security Vulnerabilities

Around 2019 through early 2025, Buffalo Wild Wings Mobile app faced numerous security vulnerabilities impacting unknown amounts of users. The earliest known instance is from 2019 from a man named Mr. Najera, who lost 9,700 points from an unknown hacker in Fresno, California. Users on Reddit began reporting on their accounts being hacked around 2020, claiming a lost for points spanning 1,000 - 50,000 (depending on how much points a user has) across various different states. Users reported receiving varying responses from Buffalo, with some claiming they never received a response back, while others reported received a response and getting their points back. Additionally, some users claim having difficulty login into their accounts, along with other issues. The company updated their security standards on November 2023 by implementing MFA. The community reacted with excited and relief over the news, however after the update came out, some users still reported getting hacked, login issues, along with not receiving their points after orders.

Hidden Delivery Fee

https://www.classaction.org/news/class-action-claims-buffalo-wild-wings-charges-hidden-delivery-fee-disguised-as-service-fee

Hidden Carryout Fee

https://www.the-sun.com/money/8568751/buffalo-wild-wings-automatic-surcharge/

https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/buffalo-wild-wings-drop-controversial-takeout-fee

https://www.distractify.com/p/restaurant-charges-takeout-fee-for-customers-picking-up-their-own-food

https://www.classaction.org/news/buffalo-wild-wings-hit-with-class-action-over-hidden-carryout-fee

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuffaloWildWings/comments/s37sgi/service_charge_for_takeout_at_buffalo_wild_wings/

https://www.mashed.com/1320904/buffalo-wild-wings-takeout-bill-backlash-explained/

Consumer Mistreatment

Making Fun of Homeless People

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/homeless-man-buffalo-wild-wings/

https://lovelyti.com/2018/06/03/buffalo-wild-wings-gives-homeless-man-free-wings-for-a-year-after-employee-writes-horrid-message-on-receipt/

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/buffalo-wild-wings-gives-homeless-man-free-wings-for-a-year-after-staffer-writes-derogatory-message-on-receipt

https://www.theroot.com/buffalo-wild-wings-gives-homeless-man-free-wings-for-a-year-after-employee-writes-horrid-message-on-receipt

Prioritizing Racist Customers over Black Customers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ThoWeZJvjA Navervill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb1beo9JbjA Navervill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YO3066PC1k Navervill

Customers not allowed to sing the National Athem after previously being allowed to

on September11, 2017, employees refused to play the national athem song for customers during the football games after having previously played it for the last game, citing it was "to controversial" and it violated company policy. Customers responded by posting the incident on social media, gaining huge interactions that led many to be confused and angry. One customer involved in the incident said " Nobody understood what was so controversial, its 9/11, and its a sporting event, why is it controversial." The company issued several responses regarding this incident.

Buffalo Wild Wings company response on their website;

"We apologize that Guests at the Eastvale, California location didn’t receive the positive sports viewing experience we strive to provide in all of our restaurants every day. This was the action of one individual and does not reflect our corporate practice. Our intent is to show game broadcasts in their entirety including the National Anthem, post-game interviews, and highlights."

World Wide Wings (company that operated the restaurant) responded on television saying;

"World Wide Wings, a Buffalo Wild Wings franchise, apologizes for what happened at our restaurant before the Monday night football game. We do not have a policy regarding this matter."

A response from Joe Janaszek, a Chief Marketing Officer for World Wide Wings

"This gentleman who no longer works for us, made the decision to turn the volume down during the national anthem ... He claimed it was company policy, because it was too controversial. We don't know why he did that, and we wish he hadn't done it."

Refusing to Serve customers based on their Race and Gender

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/buffalo-wild-wings-racial-discrimination-lawsuit

Customers Kicked out for order food at Takeout then eating at Restaurant

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Printing Racial Slurs on Receipts

https://atlantablackstar.com/2025/11/25/black-couple-sues-buffalo-wild-wings-for-5-million-after-ordering-takeout-then-finding-racial-slur-on-their-receipt/

https://www.blackenterprise.com/couple-sues-buffalo-wild-wings-over-documented-racial-slur/

https://www.reddingnewsreview.com/black-veteran-files-5-million-lawsuit-after-racist-slur-printed-on-buffalo-wild-wings-receipt

Gender Checking Customers

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See also

• KFC
• Popeyes