Wingstop opened on Monday with customers queuing from 3am
Wingstop queues on Thursday, April 17
Wingstop customers continue to queue outside the city centre restaurant four days after it opened. The Texas chicken chain launched its first Liverpool site on Monday, April 14, to hundreds of people waiting on both sides of Lord Street.
Barriers have remained in place to organise customers still lining up at the venue 96 hours later. The ECHO has witnessed customers queuing every day with around 20 people waiting at any given time.
The first 100 people through the door at launch were treated to a free eight piece meal of their choice. The queue proceeded slowly but efficiently to prevent overcrowding in the restaurant.
The small venue boasts around 50 covers with an option for takeaway dining. Queuing customers are required to wait at one of two barriers along Lord Street until a space is available inside the restaurant.
Wingstop queues on Wednesday, April 16
Raphaella Larkou, 21, from Birmingham and Rihanna Devlin, 21 from Ireland, were first in line on Monday morning. The friends arrived at 3am sharp, determined to lead the pack through the doors.
The group decided to make the most of their “free will” and came well prepared for the eight hour wait. Rihanna told the ECHO: “It felt competitive. We were first in the queue at 3am.”
Raphaella said: “We went back to our flat and packed a bag. We got a blanket, water, gloves, glasses and layered up. We haven’t slept. We’ve played Uno to keep us entertained.”
Wingstop queues on Thursday, April 17
Late to the party on Monday was Fran Ansell, 21, from Leicester, and Henry Hilton, 23, from Hull. The pair arrived at the back of the queue 10 minutes before Wingstop was set to open.
More than 100 people were already in front of them, meaning by the time they entered the restaurant the freebies were gone. Henry, however, was undeterred.
Fran and Henry joined the queue just 10 minutes before Wingstop opened it doors on Monday – to find there were 100 people already in front of them(Image: christopher megrath)
He told the ECHO: “We’re locked in now. We definitely wouldn’t wait from 3am but we’re already committed to our spot. It’s definitively worth it.”
Neil Oxton, 42, brought daughter Lexie and her friend Letitia McKee to the opening, joining the end of the queue. The 3am start time wasn’t appealing, as he told the ECHO: “10am is the earliest we’d join!”
Wingstop is already preparing to open a second site in Mersey Shopping Park. A number of local Wingstop job advertisements have appeared on the online recruitment website Indeed recruiting general and assistant managers.