Olathe opening: Popular chicken chain flies deeper into JoCo; its first franchisee isn’t just winging it
May 14, 2025 | Startland News Staff
Joe Finch got his start in the food industry bussing tables. This weekend, he’ll open his own restaurant in Olathe — capitalizing on the popularity of spinout success WingStand by opening the brand’s first franchise location.
WingStand Olathe is set to debut Saturday at 119 South Mur-Len Road, offering an order of free wings to WingStand app users at its grand opening event.
Click here to sign up for the WingStand app.
WingStand is owned by Lawrence-based Jefferson’s Restaurants, and is known for its quick, approachable dining experience and bold flavors. The restaurant offers boneless, bone-in, crispy, traditional, and even soy-based veggie wings. The menu also features Certified Angus Beef smashburgers and hand-breaded chicken sandwiches and tenders.
Click here to order or learn more about WingStand.
A spread of menu items from chicken spot WingStand, which also now boasts Certified Angus Beef smashburgers; courtesy photo
“WingStand is first and foremost a neighborhood place,” Finch said. “We’re really excited to connect with our new community in Olathe, and we couldn’t think of a better way than by sharing our favorite food: wings.”
Finch previously served as general manager of WingStand’s food truck and off-site catering services, as well as a stint at WingStand’s original location in Mission and a former location on State Line Road.
WingStand’s restaurant at 5438 Johnson Dr. remains a corporate-owned location.
A local to Kansas City, he worked his way up through the ranks of the restaurant business, from clearing tables to serving and hosting, then eventually bartending and management.
Michael Brown, director of operations for WingStand (and who oversaw the launch of the first location in Mission) is Finch’s operating partner in the new venture.
The new space at 119 South Mur-Len Road previously was home to Fire Jerk Grill Jamaican Cuisine and, before that, a Little Caesars shop.
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC nonprofit wants to change the face of tech (without leaving its students in debt)
Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by Resiliency at Work 2.0 Career and Technical Education, a Kansas City-based organization focused on creating and increasing equitable opportunities through education and training for careers in the technically skilled workforce. Dr. Joy Vann-Hamilton set out to close the diversity gap in the tech workforce; her work through…
Proof is in the spending: CEO-to-CEO Challenge yields results in diversifying supply chains
Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity. When she started researching the institutional knowledge at MMC Corp. about working with diverse suppliers, national purchasing director Kelli Fraas found the process was…
Her new role is reenvisioning one of KC’s most iconic events for entrepreneurs; how Callie England is shaking up GEW
Callie England misses the life of an entrepreneur, she shared, but her new role with the UMKC Innovation Center — and GEWKC — allows her to stay in the game without being on the field. As of January, the veteran Kansas City startup founder is responsible for managing the branding and marketing initiatives of the…
Sand volleyball tourney for early-career professions works to ‘Spike the Stigma’ on mental health
Joining the workforce is no walk on the beach, said Mark Potts, but give him and his teammates a few hours in the sun and sand on a Saturday afternoon and it could be. “Nobody is on their journey alone,” said Potts, president of the Go Further Foundation, explaining the organization’s purpose and its goal…