With Zero Orders Placed, AI Says to Drop 50 Wings In the Fryer. It’s Cut Customer Wait Times In Half.
Wingstop’s Smart Kitchen, which uses machine learning to predict exactly when to start preparing food, has helped the brand land at #6 on the Franchise 500.
This story appears in the January 2026 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
To view our entire 2026 Franchise 500 list, including category rankings, click HERE.
The brand’s made-to-order wings are why fans love Wingstop, but personalization takes time. The average order has historically taken around 20 minutes, and on busy Friday and Saturday nights, CEO Michael Skipworth admits that the wait could creep up to 45 minutes.
“Our back-of-house kitchen was pretty archaic,” he says. “Not a lot had changed in 30 years. We were running off printed tickets.”
The brand new Wingstop Smart Kitchen, which just rolled out across the country, not only digitizes operations, but also utilizes machine learning to create a demand forecast unique to each restaurant. The goal: Staff should have wings ready to come out of the fryer when an order is placed. Data points include everything from historical sales information to the local high school football team’s schedule. As a result, order times have been cut nearly in half.
“When a team member is told by the demand forecast to drop 50 wings [in the fryer], and they’re looking at a screen with not a single order placed, they’re like, ‘Should we really drop 50 wings?’” Skipworth says. “But we tell them, ‘Yes, drop ’em.’ And, sure enough, a few minutes later, they get an order for 20, an order for 25. It’s incredible how accurate it is.”
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As the Smart Kitchen has won over skeptics, it’s also reduced staff turnover rates at restaurants that tested the technology. And because the Smart Kitchen offers more direction for team members, training has moved faster than ever. It’s all part of the company’s ongoing commitment to all things digital, with an in-house team that develops and drives all innovations.
It makes sense for Wingstop — which came in at No. 11 in the Franchise 500 last year, and sees its highest ranking ever this year—to invest in tech. Over 70% of orders are placed digitally, and the company has a database of over 60 million users. An e-commerce platform, MyWingstop, was introduced in 2024, and new loyalty program Club Wingstop is set to launch in Q2 of this year, all focused on personalization.
Expectations are high. The third quarter of 2025 marked five consecutive quarters of 100-plus new restaurant openings, and Skipworth expects the year ahead to break development records. It takes about $500,000 of investment to open a Wingstop, with many franchisees recouping that investment by the end of year two. Current average unit volume is $2.1 million; the brand sees a path to $3 million over time, and anticipates a big boost from the company’s proprietary technology, including the Smart Kitchen.
“There are a lot of companies that serve chicken,” Skipworth says. “There’s not many that do it the way Wingstop does.”
Related: This Innovative Move Keeps Wingstop Flying High
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To view our entire 2026 Franchise 500 list, including category rankings, click HERE.
The brand’s made-to-order wings are why fans love Wingstop, but personalization takes time. The average order has historically taken around 20 minutes, and on busy Friday and Saturday nights, CEO Michael Skipworth admits that the wait could creep up to 45 minutes.
“Our back-of-house kitchen was pretty archaic,” he says. “Not a lot had changed in 30 years. We were running off printed tickets.”
