AUBURN — When Jeff Applegate and Jake Bialeschki first weighed the Twin Cities as a possible location for their restaurant — Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar — they almost crossed the cities off their list.

“Initially, we did not feel the market was big enough,” Applegate said. “But we did our due diligence.”

They drove around and examined the high-traffic areas. They found the restaurants and talked with business leaders. And they began talking with regular folks.

They discovered hockey’s pull on the local population. They learned that people around here know a lot about wings.

And they’re thirsty.

“You guys like to drink your beer,” Applegate said.

The time they spent led the guys to commit about $2 million — their cost for opening a franchise — on the location at 684 Turner St. in Auburn. 

Applegate was surprised by the reception he was given by city workers as he gathered the licenses and permits he needed to open.

“They’d be ‘Let’s get you through this,'” Applegate said. They answered every question, sometimes even helping him to fill out applications.

“I don’t have all of the answers,” he said.

It gave both men a sense of welcoming that they have yet to see in another community.

“It’s not like that everywhere,” Applegate said.

So far, the restaurant is going well. Their 6,000-square-foot building underwent a quick transformation that included hiring more than 100 people, the installation of 50 television screens and seating for 242 people.

The restaurant looks bigger on the inside than it does from the street and the nearby roundabout.

Some people walk in expecting a few intimate tables rather than an open, sports bar atmosphere with screens visible from every angle.

It’s like walking into a pinball machine.

“We call it the ‘Wow’ factor,” Applegate said.

The place opened Monday, July 18, and it has been busy ever since.

“It’s meeting expectations,” Applegate said, cautious not to make sweeping statements about the restaurant’s long-term success. He believes the community needs more restaurants and that Buffalo Wild Wings is a “perfect fit.”

“A lot of this is being done by gut,” Applegate, an Albany native, said. He and Bialeschki opened Maine’s first Buffalo Wild Wings in South Portland in March. More are planned in Augusta and Bangor.

That’s despite some economic forecasts and rankings that paint a dire picture of Maine’s business climate.  Last year, Forbes magazine listed Maine as the worst state in the country for business and careers.

“If we believed everything we read, we never would have come here,” Applegate said.

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