Buffalo Wild Wings Submits Plans For Old Center Court In Natomas

BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

Minnesota-based Buffalo Wild Wings is moving ahead with plans to open a sports bar in Natomas by year’s end.

Documents submitted June 26 to the city of Sacramento detail plans to convert most of Chris Webber’s defunct Center Court with C-Webb restaurant into a brand-new, sit-down eatery.

But federally-imposed limits which restrict all building in the Natomas Basin could shoot down the proposed Buffalo Wild Wings project – nearly two years in the making – before it even takes flight.

In 2008 the Federal Emergency Management Agency redesignated the Natomas Basin to a more restrictive flood zone, limiting construction projects until further levee improvements are completed. FEMA regulations state that structures cannot be improved for more than 50% of their current value.

The plans submitted for Buffalo Wild Wings are being vetted by city planning and building officials who will determine whether the proposed project meets these restrictions. An appraisal of the building, located at 3600 North Freeway Boulevard in the Sacramento Gateway shopping center, is pending.

Promenade property manager CB Richard Ellis had no comment on the plans submitted to the city. At press time, calls to the property owner, architect and Buffalo Wild Wings corporate headquarters had not been returned.

As proposed, the existing Center Court building will be divided into two different tenant spaces with Buffalo Wild Wings occupying the larger 6,280 square foot portion – about 80 percent of the building – as well as the adjacent, existing outdoor patio space. The restaurant would have the capacity to seat 358 diners.

Buffalo Wild Wings plans to operate a full-service, sit-down restaurant with a full bar and about four video games. The eatery would be open from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There are currently 839 Buffalo Wild Wings locations – including restaurants in Citrus Heights and Folsom – across 48 states in the United States and in Canada.

The Buffalo Wild Wings menu includes the chain’s trademark wings, ribs, sandwiches, burgers and more. The restaurant also plans to serve a full line of alcoholic drinks.

Center Court with C-Webb closed in November 2009.