Meet Matt & Crystal Bailey | Owners & Operators

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt & Crystal Bailey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt & Crystal, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Matt had always wanted to own his own business. We had both worked in restaurants and then got out of that industry and worked 9-5 jobs. It kept calling us back and when the opportunity presented itself, we had a dear friend that challenged us to go for it. We did and it has been an amazing adventure since.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Matt and I both had worked in the restaurant industry for a long time. I had some past experience in running my own business. Opening a sports bar was something that neither of us were necessarily prepared for, especially walking right into covid. I am very proud of the way we handled staying afloat through it. It was NOT easy, but I truly believe starting during such a trialing time has made us stronger. We had to change our original business plan and pivot to accommodate mandates, and the needs of our customers. There have been a lot of learning curves. Matt and I are an amazing team. We really do like to support each other and encourage one another in our strengths and then help each other in the places we are not as strong. We have learned to be flexible. We have learned that there are very hard days and then very good days. We focus on tomorrow and if something does not work, we are ok to say we were wrong and try a different way. We have learned that sometimes we have to take our hands off a little and let our staff who we trust, to take care of things so we can reset too. If there was something we would want the world to know about our brand it would be that we are 2 people that care an awful lot about our little restaurants. We are not only family owned but family oriented. We care about the staff. We encourage them that their families also come first, and they are such an amazing group of people.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If a friend was visiting my area, I would of course take them to Wicked Wings. Probably on a Thursday for trivia or Friday for live music. We would love to take them out on the lake because a good day on the lake doesn’t get much more beautiful & peaceful. We may go to downtown Woodstock or Canton to shop and get something to eat. We live in such a beautiful community full of amazing people.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our story started with a dream and jumping in feet first. When we opened it was March 9th 2020. Covid shutdown happened just a few days later. We sat and brainstormed on how to keep our business open, keep our employees working and keep ourselves from going under. If it was not for an amazing staff who was flexible with us and the community keeping the Togo orders coming in, we would not have made it. We are so beyond thankful for them. We are also so thankful to our 3 kids. They have been so patient and also flexible. Sometimes being the owner, it means we have to fil gaps on no notice. Our kids are understanding of that and also help jump in. It is a juggling act for sure running a family and two restaurants, but our kiddos really are amazing at helping us do that.

Website: www.wickedwingskennesaw.com and www.wickedwingsbridgemill.com

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Image Credits
These are my photos