THE LOCATION OF MONCTON'S WING'N IT EXPRESS, SET TO OPEN IN LATE 2022. IMAGE: FILE

After a summer of setbacks, a Newfoundland wing joint opening a franchise in Moncton hopes to serve its first wings this October.

Charlene Michelin, the owner and operator of the Wing’n It franchise bound for the Granite Center, said there have been several setbacks relating to the fit-up work for the restaurant. Once it opens, it will share the same berth as the already-opened Simply For Life and Take It Outside.

“Things are moving really slow,” said Michelin. She said the best-case scenario will see Wing’N It open in October.

“If we continue to move in the direction it’s been moving this week, it shouldn’t take long to finish the job.”

In a previous interview with Huddle, in May, before a series of contractor-related setbacks, Michelin said Wing’M It would open within 65 days of the fit-up, which she expected to wrap up in July.

After a significant gap in activity in the summer, Michelin said work is at the “electrical stage” and that she’s waiting on a local contractor to set up the electrical infrastructure so that the next contractor can set up the drywall the following week.

One problem that pushed back the timeline was the contractor’s difficulty finding an electrician.

“It’s amazing how much work there is out there for contractors and how much of a shortage of contractors there are available,” Michelin added.

She noted that the Ontario-based contractor tasked with fitting-up Wing’N It’s Moncton home has yet to set foot in the city and hasn’t provided a solid date when he will.

“It’s very frustrating and it’s been very frustrating. We’re wanting to set a schedule and have an approximate time when this could be finished – we’re going week-to-week,” said Michelin.

“He has to start putting some work into the building himself to get the remainder of the stuff done. We have spoken about this before but he’s said he’ll be here after the drywall is up.”

In the summer, a plumber set up the in-floor infrastructure for Wing’N It and another contractor set up the framing for walls. Michelin previously told Huddle that RCS Construction of Moncton was hired to do some of the fit-up work.

Headquartered in Torbay, Wing’N It sells pub-style fare, and is known for its variety of wings ranging spiciness levels and named after chapters in aviation history, with wings bearing names like Amelia Earhart and Kamikaze.

Wing’N It, launched in 2010 on St. John’s, is one of many new tenants moving into Moncton’s Granite Center, a retail-heavy area near Costco, the Trans-Canada Highway, and Caledonia Industrial Park, off Elmwood Drive, that’s been dubbed “the Dartmouth Crossing of New Brunswick.”

Sam Macdonald is a Reporter for Huddle Today, a content-sharing partner of Acadia Broadcasting.