LAWRENCE, Kan. – Aug. XX, 2025 – Jefferson’s Restaurants, a neighborhood restaurant chain with a hometown feel headquartered in Lawrence, Kansas, is adding five new restaurants to its lineup. This expansion includes three Jefferson’s locations and two WingStand restaurants—another wings concept housed under the Jefferson’s umbrella. The last year marks another exciting growth season for Jefferson’s, with more on the horizon.
Jefferson’s, known for its Double-Dipped wings, hand-pattied burgers, and fresh oysters, will soon operate 38 locations across five states: Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Kansas, and Missouri. Two of the three new locations are in the Huntsville, Alabama metro: one in New Market and one in Hartselle. The third new restaurant will be in Eastman, Georgia. This expansion comes quick on the heels of the three new Jefferson’s locations that launched last year across the South.
WingStand by Jefferson’s recently debuted their second Kansas City-area location in May of 2025, with a third location coming soon to nearby Lawrence later this year. Like their parent company Jefferson’s, WingStand is a neighborhood-first restaurant with an interest in serving delicious food, known for its tossed-to-perfection wings, hand-breaded tenders, and fresh-squeezed lemonade.
But Jefferson’s doesn’t want growth just for the sake of growth: The company continues to prioritize conscientious, sustainable expansion before all else. Even with locations across five states, the focus has never been on making a uniform, big-box experience, but rather a friendly atmosphere that will speak to each individual community where Jefferson’s has roots.
“Our focus is on the neighborhoods and the people that live there,” said Jefferson’s President Brandon Graham. “We’re very intentional about looking for franchisees who share that same community-minded outlook—and it works.”
Given their focus on conscientious growth, it makes sense that many of Jefferson’s franchisees worked at Jefferson’s in another capacity before moving into ownership, either as servers, bartenders, managers, or some combination of those roles. Notably, much of the brand’s recent expansion has come from within, with five of the six most recent locations opened by existing franchisees further investing in the Jefferson’s brand.
Moving Forward by Giving Back
In the last year, Jefferson’s has made a concerted effort to give back to its communities and recognize their unsung leaders. In the fall of 2024, Jefferson’s expanded its Coach of the Year program to their entire five-state region, recognizing coaches in every Jefferson’s community who have gone well beyond the call of duty for the children they coach. The program provided a $500 Jefferson’s gift card to each winner.
“The outpouring from those nominations was overwhelming,” Graham said. “In a way, it underscored Jefferson’s identity as a community touchstone, and it was obvious that we tapped into something that made us want to dig in. We started asking, ‘how else can we recognize the people who are serving our communities?’”
This question led to the spring 2025 launch of the Jefferson’s Teacher of the Year program, conceived as a sister program to the Coach of the Year award. On May 6, in honor of National Teachers’ Day, Jefferson’s announced Teachers of the Year from every city where Jefferson’s has locations. The support was, once again, overwhelming.
Jake Lund and Robby Coggin are co-franchisees of seven—soon to be eight—Jefferson’s locations through the Tennessee Valley area. Their local leadership has been instrumental in Jefferson’s all-around growth, leaving them well-positioned to witness the direct impact of these community campaigns. “These two programs have blown us away,” said Lund. “The ways these teachers and coaches have given their hearts to their students, truly caring for them like their own—those leaders are the backbone of our neighborhoods. We’ve loved the opportunity to hear their stories and recognize them for their service.” Lund and Coggin are also owners/operators of two of Jefferson’s new locations in New Market and Hartselle.
All of Jefferson’s locations participate in Spirit Night programming, where local nonprofits “host” at Jefferson’s for an evening—with a percentage of the event sales going to the benefit of the nonprofit host. The restaurant group continues to look for partnership opportunities within their five-state reach that will give back to their local neighborhoods. Most recently, Jefferson’s flagship store in Lawrence has partnered with Just Food, a food bank and pantry serving the Lawrence area, to raise food and monetary donations following the food bank’s announcement of funding cuts. The restaurant group continues to look for community partnerships within their five-state reach that will give back to their local neighborhoods.
30+ Years in the Making
Jefferson’s got its start in Jacksonville, Ala., in 1991 with a simple philosophy: serve great food, treat people like family, and become part of the community. Since establishing its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., in 2000, the once single-roof eatery has grown into a five-state, nearly 40-unit brand.
“What makes Jefferson’s different is our commitment to building real connections in every community we serve,” said Graham. “We’re taking that spirit with us into the years ahead.”
About Jefferson’s
Jefferson’s Restaurant is a sport-themed, family-friendly restaurant known for its hand-pattied burgers, fresh oysters, world-famous wings – and signature sauces. For more information, visit Jeffersons.com.
Contact: Alaina Belisle
804.332.2517
