Customer: Buffalo Wild Wings
Location: Corona, CA
Vertical Market: Retail/Restaurant
Product: Optoma TX779 (nine units) and TH1060 (two units)

Pull Quotes:
“Using Optoma’s projectors, the picture clarity is much better and it gives us a real wow factor”
—Brett Babick, chief operating officer of Desert Wild Wings (holding company of the Corona, CA Buffalo Wild Wings)

“When you add the projector, you have to have the best game on that TV because people flock to that area. The picture is clear and big and good for the restaurant.”
—Jose Lopez, manager, Buffalo Wild Wings

Retail Needs
Customers at Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant arrive hoping to experience their favorite sports on the big screen.  The restaurant, which offers dozens of projectors and televisions is open seven days per week, for up to 13 hours providing exciting, high-quality pictures.    

Expert Solution
Support for remote control capabilities, as well as picture quality, bulb replacement and pricing topped the feature shopping list. Smart Systems Technology recommended a dozen Optoma TX779 projectors, which deliver 4500 ANSI lumens brightness and remote management and control via a user-friendly, integrated Crestron RoomView® interface.

Results
Optoma projectors have become standard fare in all three Buffalo Wild Wings franchise locations. Users have seven-day-per-week access to the broadest array of sporting events on the big screen from the moment the restaurant opens until it closes its doors each evening.

Hed: Buffalo Wings Restaurants Serves Up Exciting Sports with the Optoma TX779

Sports fans and barbeque lover’s flock to 700 Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants sprawled across 43 states to enjoy 18 sauce flavors with their chicken wings and to cheer for their favorite sports teams while watching on a big screen. In Corona, CA, the franchise owners let the cooks in the kitchen ensure great food, but called upon solution provider Smart Systems Technologies to help amp up the entertainment.

 “The corporate spec called for a different manufacturer’s projector and the franchisee originally wanted to go with that,” said Craig Curran, president of solution provider Smart Systems Technologies, Inc. (SST) in Irvine, CA. “We pointed to a different path that we wanted to take.”

Build It and They Will Come

At Buffalo Wild Wings in Corona, up to 244 guests go to have their favorite sporting event turned into a party experience.  The restaurant serves up entertainment on 60 HD LCD televisions and 11 projector screens to ensure that every imaginable sporting event, from USF boxing to Sunday football, is represented and that every customer gets to see exactly what he or she wants.

“For big events, people want to see their team on the big screen and they want the atmosphere of fun and loud excitement,” said Jose Lopez, general manager at the Corona location.  “At Buffalo Wild Wings, everyone gets a big screen. It becomes almost like a movie theater experience. We want to build a reputation of serving ice-cold beer and great wings, and of having the biggest screens and best projectors in town.”

The projectors run seven days per week from 11 a.m., when the restaurant opens, until it closes thirteen or more hours later. “Our customers get here early in the morning to see their team play and they want to sit there and watch their team on the big screen from the moment it starts until it ends,” said Lopez.

A Better Recipe

In light of the stringent demands on the projector and the size of the screens, SST felt that a combination of nine Optoma TX779 and two Optoma TH1060 DLP projectors could best meet the need. Stellar picture quality, affordable maintenance, strong network capabilities and manageable overall project cost all took top spots on the must-have list of demands for the project.  

The solution provider knew that the TX779’s 4500 ANSI Lumens brightness and 3000:1 contrast ratio would deliver the exciting and detailed viewing experience that would woo potential customers. Meanwhile, for the biggest screens, the TH1060 delivered an even brighter 4500 ANSI lumens, as well as 2500:1 contrast ratio.

In addition, the TX779 and the TH1060 both integrate easily with the Elan control system that lets the restaurant control the flow of entertainment to the various screens. “From an operational standpoint that integration and networking capability lets managers spend less time managing projectors and much more time making sure guests are happy,” said Brett Babick, chief operating officer of Desert Wild Wings, the holding company that runs three Buffalo Wild Wings locations in California.

In the end, the rich feature set and robust operation proved well worth the price of the projector. “The entire system was very price sensitive, and this number of projectors has an impact for sure,” said Curran. “Although the Optoma projector was slightly more expensive, but we felt like the choice allowed us to bring much more to the franchisee.”

Big-Screen Experience

Buffalo Wild Wings strategically positioned the projectors and screens throughout the dining room and bar to allow customers from all over the restaurant get a great view. “We are trying to create the game-day experience,” said Babick, adding that there is one Optoma projector per 22 seats.  “These projectors play a vital part in our overall presentation package.”

One of the Optoma TH1060 projectors puts 12-foot images up for viewers on a screen located behind the bar. “That’s the big dog screen, the premier screen that has the greatest visibility and exposure,” said Babick.

Meanwhile, the Optoma TX779 units project onto ten foot screens throughout the rest of the venue. “The quality of the projectors and quality of the picture are second to none without exception,” said Babick. “We are proud of the entertainment we can offer our customers.”

Now, the restaurant can show 16 different video feeds at once, combining 10 DirecTV receivers and a DVD player as well as internal marketing programming. However, the projectors remain a key part of the total system. “When you add the projector, you have to have the best game on that TV because people flock to that area,” said Lopez. “The picture is clear and big and good for the restaurant.”

Sweet Success

The projector recipe used at the Corona Buffalo Wild Wings eateries proved to be successful. In fact, the owners used the same recipe in two more of its locations with similar results. , the partners of Desert Wings, LLC,  “We weren’t overly impressed with the competitive product that was specified in the corporate guidelines,” said Babick.  “Using Optoma’s projectors, the picture clarity is much better and it gives us a real wow factor.”