ITALY: WINGSTOP ARRIVES IN ITALY AND OPENS THE BRAND'S FIRST RESTAURANT SPECIALIZING IN CHICKEN WINGS IN MILAN

Wingstop Milano_Via Dante 16

WINGSTOP ARRIVES IN ITALY AND OPENS THE BRAND'S FIRST RESTAURANT SPECIALIZING IN CHICKEN WINGS IN MILAN

MILAN, ITALY, October 8, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / -- Led by Ethan Bastianich , the project brings a new food experience to Via Dante that combines taste, entertainment and urban culture.

With the opening of its first permanent Italian

restaurant in Milan , at Via Dante 16, Wingstop ushers in a new phase of its international growth. Following the success of the pop-up in the Navigli area, which introduced the brand to the Italian public and quickly became a phenomenon
of aggregation and social engagement, the American brand specializing in bone-in, boneless, and tender chicken wings is consolidating its presence in the country with a project destined to extend well beyond the opening of a single location.

The arrival in Italy represents the first step in an ambitious development plan aimed at creating a network of 50 restaurants nationwide, entrusting Milan with the role of laboratory and starting point for a strategy built around the quality of the experience, the strength of the brand, and the ability to create community: the restaurant is transformed into a space for connection, identity, and belonging.

Leading the Italian development are Joe Bastianich and Ethan Bastianich, through Ranch Rangers, the company formed to develop and operate Wingstop in the country: a project born from the encounter between one of the most recognizable brands in international catering and a family that has significantly contributed to the spread of Italian gastronomic culture around the world.

While Joe Bastianich brings over thirty years of entrepreneurial experience in the international restaurant industry, Ethan represents a new generation of entrepreneurs who view food as a cultural language, an opportunity for discovery, and a tool for building relationships. After
gaining experience in the United States developing formats dedicated to Italian gastronomy, he now personally leads Wingstop's growth in Italy, aiming to promote not only an iconic American product, but a contemporary vision of
dining founded on quality, sharing, and experience.

"I grew up in a family where cooking has always been much more than a profession: it's a language capable of describing cultures, creating relationships, and bringing people together at the same table. With Wingstop, we want to bring this very vision to Italy. We're not simply introducing a new restaurant brand, but an experience that combines quality, taste, design, and urban culture. Milan is the starting point of an ambitious entrepreneurial project that aims to build a community and spread a contemporary way of experiencing food, in which every restaurant becomes a place of meeting, sharing, and discovery," says Ethan Bastianich, who is leading Wingstop's development in Italy.

From this perspective, the Milan opening takes on strategic importance. Wingstop isn't simply exporting a successful format; it's introducing a global brand to the Italian market, one that has built its identity around the concept of "Flavor Experts": an approach that places taste at the center of every aspect of the experience, from express preparation to menu customization, to the creation of spaces that inspire a sense of belonging.

Founded in Texas in 1994 and now operating over 3,000 restaurants worldwide, Wingstop has grown by transforming an iconic product like chicken wings into an international cultural phenomenon. The brand's success is based on several key principles: express preparation, rigorous quality standards, distinctive flavors, and a strong identity capable of speaking to new generations through music, sports, creativity, and urban language.

Urban culture is one of the brand's founding elements. It's not just a simple aesthetic, but a philosophy that interprets the restaurant as a social space, a meeting place, and a cultural platform. Each opening is designed to become a hub for the local community, hosting events, music, digital content, and moments of sharing that transform dining into a collective experience.

This vision takes shape in the new Milanese restaurant on Via Dante, designed by Costa Group as a three-dimensional interpretation of the Wingstop identity. The interior design project translates the brand's values ​​through a contemporary, material language in which raw concrete, riveted black sheet metal, exposed brick, textured plaster, and leather accents interact with the brand's green and black palette, creating an environment with a strong urban character.

The large LED-lit surfaces, video walls, graphic installations dedicated to Milan, typographic signs, DJ corner, group seating, and flexible spaces transform the venue into an immersive environment designed to foster socializing, permanence, and sharing. Even the façade participates in this narrative thanks to microLED technology that animates the large windows on Via Dante with scenographic content, while a humorous cherub holding a chicken reinterprets classic iconography with a pop twist, perfectly encapsulating the brand's provocative and playful spirit.

The same attention to detail characterizes the food offerings. Each order is prepared exclusively to order: bone-in, boneless, and tender wings are fried to order and then glazed or seasoned by hand, preserving their crispiness, juiciness, and intense flavor.

The menu is built around the ten signature flavors that have made Wingstop famous worldwide, taking consumers on a taste journey that ranges from the freshest, citrusiest notes to the most intensely spicy. Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan made with Parmigiano Reggiano, Hawaiian, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Louisiana Rub, Brazilian Citrus Pepper, Spicy Korean Q, Original Hot, Mango Habanero, and the iconic Atomic express a philosophy based on customization and the freedom to create your own gastronomic experience. Rounding out the offering are the famous spicy chips, loaded fries, ranch sauce made fresh daily according to the brand's proprietary recipe, churros, and a specialty designed to be shared.