Wingstop to open second Dutch restaurant in Amsterdam

Wingstop is expanding its presence in the Netherlands with a second restaurant. The American chicken wing chain will open on ArenA Boulevard in Amsterdam-Zuidoost on 9 November 2026. Following its first location at Schiphol Plaza, the brand has chosen an area where football, music and entertainment come together. Vermaat operates Wingstop’s Dutch restaurants.

From Schiphol Plaza to Amsterdam-Zuidoost

The announced opening follows Wingstop’s Dutch debut in August 2025, when the chain opened its first restaurant at Schiphol Plaza. The ArenA Boulevard restaurant gives the brand a second Dutch location, this time outside the airport setting.

RetailTrends reported the new opening on 3 November. The opening date is therefore still ahead: this is an announced expansion, not a restaurant that is already trading. According to the announcement, the new location will welcome customers from 9 November.

Wingstop was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. This Dutch expansion involves an established American brand that still has only a small presence in the Netherlands. The move from one to two locations is a concrete step, but does not in itself provide a basis for predicting the eventual size of its Dutch network.

Vermaat sees scope for further growth

Vermaat operates Wingstop’s Dutch restaurants. Ivo Steffens, CEO of Vermaat Netherlands, links the opening to confidence in the brand’s further development in the country.

“Wingstop has now been in the Netherlands for a year, and we see plenty of opportunities to grow the brand further here,” Steffens says in the RetailTrends report. His statement expresses an ambition to grow, but gives neither a target number of restaurants nor a timetable for further openings.

That distinction matters for readers in the franchise sector. The second location is a specific, announced step. Further growth remains, for now, an expectation expressed by the operator. This announcement does not offer individual entrepreneurs the opportunity to open their own Wingstop in the Netherlands.

For those following international franchise brands, the brand name is therefore not the only consideration. The company operating the local restaurants also deserves attention. In this Dutch expansion, that role clearly belongs to Vermaat; the announcement concerns its operation of the restaurants.

Events-led setting gives the location a different profile

Steffens specifically highlights the new restaurant’s location. “ArenA Boulevard is a fantastic place for this. People come together here for football, music and entertainment,” he says.

Vermaat’s comments therefore focus on the activities that draw visitors to the area. While the first Dutch restaurant is at Schiphol Plaza, the second has an address associated in the announcement with sport and nightlife. This change of setting is the most visible new element of the expansion.

No conclusions can yet be drawn about the commercial performance of either location on this basis. The new restaurant has yet to open, and the announcement provides no revenue expectations or visitor forecasts. The appeal of ArenA Boulevard is the operator’s assessment, rather than a proven result for the new restaurant.

For entrepreneurs assessing a site, the choice does offer a useful point to consider: look beyond the address to the reasons people visit the surrounding area. Which occasions and customer groups matter will then need to be investigated for each business.

What the franchise sector can take from this

The Wingstop news centres on a straightforward next step: a second Dutch restaurant, an announced opening date and an established operator. It shows the brand adding a different type of location after Schiphol, without committing to a nationwide roll-out.

Practical takeaway: when assessing expansion news, always distinguish between three things: which opening has been confirmed, who will operate it, and which further growth plans remain ambitions. For Wingstop, the focus is currently the announced opening on ArenA Boulevard on 9 November.