Wingers flies the coop in Rexburg

REXBURG — Say goodbye to sticky fingers: Wingers in Rexburg closed for good Monday morning.

Neither employees nor customers were given advance notice of the closure, but some of the workers suspected it was in the works.

“I knew it was coming for a while — just didn’t realize it would happen so fast,” said former manager Holly Brokens. “I also didn’t think they would do it in the morning without any notice.”

Brokens said she missed their staff meeting Monday morning and got a text saying Wingers was closing “effective immediately.”

Instead of severance pay, employees were offered hours to help close the store.

From what Brokens knows, Wingers was “up for a new lease, and looking at the money we were bringing in compared to our rent, and there was no way we could afford it.”

Wingers gave this statement about the closure:

“Wingers Restaurants is saddened to announce that the Wingers has closed for business at its Rexburg, Idaho, location. We are working diligently to assist the Rexburg staff to obtain other employment in the area, and have offered them temporary continued employment with us while we work to move equipment and clean the building. We are hopeful that Wingers might be back again in the Rexburg area in the future, but likely in a different location. Wingers would like to thank the people and the city of Rexburg for many great years for allowing us to be a part of the community. Wingers has 5 other locations in Idaho, including Pocatello, and are currently looking to open a new Wingers Restaurant & Alehouse in the Idaho Falls area.”

Wingers still has a Pocatello location for eastern Idahoans, as well as stores in western and northern Idaho. Previously, Wingers had a location in Idaho Falls, but that closed sometime between 2013 and 2014.