WingHouse Bar & Grill Set To Open on Brandon Boulevard Near Kings Avenue

Ker's WingHouse Bar & Grill, a restaurant specializing in chicken wings, will open its 20th location in Florida, on Brandon Boulevard, this week.

The Largo-based chain, founded by former Dallas Cowboy Crawford Ker, will host a ribbon-cutting with the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 29, at 3 p.m., and will officially open to the public at 4 p.m.

Customers will have the opportunity to get autographs and meet with Ker and fellow National Football League alumni from 4-6 p.m. at the restaurant, 775 West Brandon Blvd.

Crawford played college football at the University of Florida, where he earned All-American honors and was on the 1984 team that won the first Southeastern Conference Championship for the school. Drafted in 1985 by the Cowboys, he played there until 1990.

The first WingHouse opened in Largo in 1994. The chain, with estimated growth of at least three to four new restaurants annually, employs more than 1,700 workers, with 2010 revenue of nearly $60 million.

Ker was sued by Hooters in 2004 for alleged trademark violations over uniforms and decor. His won a $1.2-million jury award, a verdict that was upheld by an appeals court in 2006.

For more information, call the WingHouse at 813-526-7007.