Four M Capital Hosts Flurry of Celebrity Meet and Greets at Times Square Location

When franchisees are thinking of ways to heighten brand awareness, scheduling celebrity meet and greets might not come to mind, but for Four M Capital’s Times Square Buffalo Wild Wings^© location, it has proved to be a wonderful tool.

When Ayana Brown stepped into the role of events sales manager in July 2016, she brought with her 18 years of contacts from the entertainment industry. Brown formerly worked with Planet Hollywood Times Square where she handled celebrity events, of which scheduling meet and greets was a big part.

“When I left and came to BWW^© Times Square, I brought my publicists and entertainment industry contacts with me,” said Brown. “This space still works for them because it’s centrally located to transportation, is a recognizable brand, and they know I can successfully execute it and get everyone some press exposure.”

The first of these celebrity meet and greets was Sept. 20, when country singer and songwriter IMAJ stopped by the B-Dubs^® location for a private event and performed for several children from a charity organization. IMAJ has toured with artists such as Collin Raye, Kip Moore, Gretchen Wilson, Billy Dean, Neal McCoy and LeAnn Rimes, and CMA (Country Music Association) CloseUp Magazine labeled her as “The One to Watch.” While at Buffalo Wild Wings, IMAJ signed autographs, took photos with attendees and featured a special advanced screening of the music video for her latest hit.

On Sept. 30, Benjamin and Matthew Royer dropped by the restaurant for a photo op and some interviews. The Royer twins are best known for the Disney Channel show “Best Friends Whenever” and are also ambassadors for Disney Channel and ABC’s Choose Kindness anti-bullying campaign. Other shows in which the Royer twins have made appearances include “Back in the Game,” “100 Things to Do Before High School,” “Sam and Cat,” “2 Broke Girls” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

Later that day, a group of artists signed and represented by Parimore Entertainment came to the wing haven for a meet and greet. Talent included singer and actress Casandra Ashe who has appeared in films such as “Bad Santa,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Rattle Basket;” rapper Maxso who has appeared alongside artists Eminem and 50 Cent and has been on shows, including “The Wayne Brady Show,” “The View,” “The Today Show” and “Jimmy Kimmel;” singer Calista Quinn who recently released a new single that was named one of Radio Disney’s “top 4 fresh new songs to watch out for;” and singer Greg Marks who has released hits such as “Rock You to the Top” and “Too Late.” The Parimore Entertainment artists signed autographs and took photos with fans.

Eleven days later, the restaurant hosted yet another meet and greet for Denise Boutte who is best known for her role as Sasha Brown on Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns.” Boutte has also been cast in “Why Did I Get Married,” “For the Love of Ruth” and “The Bounce Back.”

While Brown admits that these types of events don’t necessarily lead to an immediate increase in revenue and that most guests come to see talent and then leave, the meet and greets are great for increasing location and brand awareness and are designed to drive future business.

But the Times Square location doesn’t just cater to small groups of singers and actors. The restaurant also welcomed UFC fighters Stipe Miocic and Anthony Pettis to mingle with fans on Nov. 11, the day before the UFC 205 event, and on Aug. 26, the BWW crew hosted an entire gifting suite.

When celebrities are in town for award shows there are typically various gifting suites set up where the stars go to get free products that sponsors want to photograph them with for promotional purposes. Not only did this provide exposure for the vendors, but B-Dubs was able to get in on the action as well. Aside from having photos taken at the restaurant, the group of 18 reality TV stars from Oxygen, VH1 and MTV programs racked up a bill of $1,353.

Attendees were from shows, including “Teen Mom OG,” “The Real World,” “Are You The One,” “The Challenge,” “Teen Mom 2,” “Mob Wives,” “Love & Hip Hop,” “Wild’n Out,” “Black Ink Crew,” “Bad Girls Club,” “True Life,” and “Artist to Watch.”

“BWW Times Square is a very special place,” said Four M Capital franchisee Jim Bitzonis. “We have many meet-and-greet events with athletes and celebrities and always get great crowds, which creates awareness and familiarity for our guests, so we hope that the next time they are in the Big Apple, they will come visit the biggest and coolest B-Dubs around!”