New owner worked her way up

Portland’s Buffalo Wings and Rings is under new ownership, but community members can still expect to see a familiar face that has been around since the restaurant opened eight years ago.

Ashley Knapschafer, 32, started at Buffalo Wings & Rings working as a server, and then in 2011 was promoted to general manager. Recently, Knapschafer has taken over full ownership of the restaurant, located at 1204 W. Votaw St.

“I was in college at IPFW when I started serving. This was just supposed to be a college job but I fell in love with it,” Knapschafer said. “I eventfully worked my way up to management and I absolutely loved it and didn’t want to do anything else. This was it.”

But she didn’t stop there.

The restaurant’s previous owner moved out of state, and Knapschafer knew she had to make a move to keep the restaurant.

“I told her if she ever wanted to sell, I wanted to buy,” she said. “If the restaurant was sold to someone else, everyone who worked here would have their jobs on the line. The restaurant could have changed. I didn’t want to change anything.”

And nothing has changed since she bought the restaurant and started as the new owner on Aug. 1.

Doug Morrison, Buffalo Wings & Rings franchise business manager, said Knapschafer’s success story is “one of a kind” as this is the first time an employee has worked her way up to full ownership within the franchise.

When he worked alongside Knapschafer during the transition process, Morrison said he noticed she had a drive to better the restaurant.

“She had a lot of ambition of things she wanted to do — to be able to get out into the community, improve business and be able to elevate service to give customers more of a VIP, elevated atmosphere,” Morrison said. “I have admired her focus on the staff and developing her staff and being there to support them. I think that’s where a lot of her success really lied and it will continue how well she will be with her staff and regular customers.”  

Knapschafer said her goal for the restaurant is to continue to do as well as it has been doing.

“As long as my employees and the customers continue to be happy, that’s all that matters to me,” she said. “I think this restaurant has so much potential and I’m excited to see where we go from here.”

Buffalo Wings and Rings, established in 1984 in Cincinnati, Ohio, is continuing to grow and expand with new locations in Indiana, with two to three restaurants “going up in the near future,” Morrison said.

“This is an exciting time to time to develop the brand and start receiving more name recognition in communities,” Morrison said. “At all of our locations, our brand has been very successful, especially in Portland. The Portland location has been ahead of the pack compared to our other locations as far as success.”