Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar will move from its Northgate Mall site to a free-standing location at Wolford Development Inc.'s Oak Park Town Center on Highway 153.
The new site will offer more space and allow the restaurant to upgrade equipment, fixtures and appearance, according to Bryon Rogers, assistant general manager.
"For both the stores in Chattanooga, we've been here for quite a while and the company has been moving forward so fast so we're trying to play catch-up," Mr. Rogers said.
He was referring to an announcement earlier this year that the other franchise in the city would move from Broad Street to Market Street to bring in more tourist pedestrians.
Having a larger building and increased visibility will be worth the trouble of moving, he said.
"The size of the building is going to more than double, the whole layout is completely different, it's more family orientated versus bar orientated, and we'll be able to host a lot more of the events because we'll have the larger restaurant," Mr. Rogers said.
He said the Hixson store currently plans to move in June, but that date could change.
"We don't have all the details yet; they're still in the planning stage, they've had to review a couple of ideas," Mr. Rogers said.
Who's moving where* Northgate Mall Buffalo Wild Wings Bar & Grill -- Moving to Oak Park Town Center on Highway 153 North in June* Broad Street Buffalo Wild Wings Bar & Grill -- Moving to 120 Market St., former site of Nu Minut Car Wash in mid-March
The Oak Park developers welcomed the restaurant.
"We're tickled to have Buffalo Wild Wings -- we think they're a great addition to the center," Chad Wolford, vice president for Wolford Development, said. Other occupants of the center include Walmart, Office Depot and Petco.
With traffic counts somewhere in the neighborhood of 35,000 per day on that stretch of 153, said the vice president for corporate relations, John Martin, the exposure for the free-standing restaurant will be far higher than at Northgate Mall.