Buffalo Wild Wings opens in Bloomington

Buffalo wings are a staple of some college students' diets. And usually, college-town restaurants try to meet and market themselves toward students' dietary needs.\nNewly opened Buffalo Wild Wings in Bloomington does just that. But owners Tom and Deb Renfro are marketing their restaurant differently by targeting local Bloomington residents. Student customers are just "icing on the cake," Tom Renfro said.\nWhen he was doing research to open a Buffalo Wild Wings location, he said he did not include the students in his demographic projections for the target market.\n"Obviously, we want to get the younger and older people, but we tried to make it more of a family-oriented type restaurant now than where it used to be more in the old days, targeted toward younger kids," Renfro said.\nRenfro said that does not mean he doesn't want students as customers -- he just planned for local residents.\n"We wanted to really figure out what we could do without (students) rather than what we could do with them," Renfro said. "Because then you really start counting on them. We'll get them anyway -- we wanted to know where we would be at without them."\nBuffalo Wild Wings, 1350 W. Bloomfield Rd., had its first official day of business Sunday. Judging by the restaurant's atmosphere, one might think it was targeting the college student. For instance, the restaurant features 50 televisions -- including eight jumbo projection-screen TVs.\nWhen it comes to food, Buffalo Wild Wings offers 12 different sauces on its wings, ranging from mild to hot. BWW also serves cheeseburgers, wraps and chicken tenders.\n"It's really sports-oriented too, and I think people will like it once they get here," Renfro said.\nThe restaurant also features NTN Trivia, an electronic trivia system customers can play while dining at their tables through a portable game playing box. Each contestant competes with other contestants in the restaurant, as well as with others across the country. The trivia games vary from sports to movie questions.\nOne student who took it all in during the restaurant's invitation-only party Saturday was senior P.J. Malm. Malm said he played trivia while chowing down on some boneless wings. He also took advantage of the restaurant's wide range of alcoholic drink offerings.\n"I came here expecting to get good food and drinks," Malm said. "But I was surprised at how addicting the trivia was."\nMalm said he doesn't think the Renfros' decision to market to Bloomington residents will keep students away.\n"I think it could hurt them in the beginning, but I think the students will come anyway," Malm said. \nBWW is open from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday.\nThe Renfros, originally from LaPorte, Ind., said this is the only business they own in Bloomington. The pair also own a restaurant, floral store and an antique shop in LaPorte.\nDeb Renfro said she and her husband are ready for the stress of owning a chicken wing restaurant in town. \n"We're really excited, and everybody in Bloomington has been wonderful," Renfro said.\n Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.