Buffalo Wild Wings to open Friday on Siemers Drive

Staff members cleaning, planning, stocking paper goods, technicians counting and running lines, workers� equipment whining � a flurry of activity indoors and out at the new Buffalo Wild Wings location at 211 Siemers Drive in Cape Girardeau shows they�re on track to open Friday.

Franchise owner Bill Zellmer confirmed the plan is to open the doors for business following a ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

The old B-Dubs closed its doors Monday at 2136 William St. in Town Plaza, Zellmer said, so the final move and finishing touches could take place.

Zellmer said he�s excited to see the new place open up.

�There�s a great sense of space,� Zellmer said. Ceilings are about double the height of the old location�s, he said, and the new space is just so much more efficient.

The new location of Buffalo Wild Wings is seen Monday at 211 Siemers Drive in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

Efficiency is important in the restaurant business, Zellmer said.

�It�ll feel bigger, more interactive,� Zellmer said, since the horseshoe-shaped bar is more centrally located in the new dining area.

And there�s more of a sports-bar sense to the new spot, he added.

Big televisions over the bar mimic a stadium scoreboard, with a row of smaller televisions underneath. Sports memorabilia from local and national teams line the walls, and yellow jersey-style numbers bedeck the booths.

The waiting area has benches made from working lockers, and padded seats at the bar.

The entire enclosed seating area will be non-smoking, Zellmer added.

�That will be nice,� he said.

A big bonus to the new facility is the patio seating. Not one, but two patios will be available for customers, Zellmer said: one downstairs, an enclosed area with bay doors that can be open in good weather, and the other upstairs.

It�s an open-air patio, Zellmer said, and it�s a great place to kick back with a beer, watch a Cardinals game on the all-weather televisions, and people-watch.

There�s a lot of activity nearby, he said, between Marcus Cape West Cinema, shopping and hotels.

�We wanted the wow factor for the new location,� Zellmer said. �I think we got it with this.�

The upstairs patio will seat 45, Zellmer said, and downstairs, about 60 people can be seated at a time.

That�s fewer than the old location could accommodate, so, Zellmer said, they hired accordingly � about 30 new people, putting their staff at more than 100 full- and part-time workers.

�We�re anticipating being busy more often,� Zellmer said. �We�re by everything here.�

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630