Wings R King held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 8 to mark the opening of its sixth Birmingham-area location, this one tucked into Pelham Plaza at 3018 Pelham Parkway, Suite 104. The fast-casual chain, known for wings, tenders, burgers and other American staples, now has two locations in Shelby County after a search that owner Madyan Mansoob said took about a year and a half to pay off.
Mansoob, who owns and operates the locally run chain, told the Shelby County Reporter that Wings R King had been trying to break into the Pelham and Alabaster market for roughly 18 months before landing the Pelham Plaza suite. The company found the site in September 2025 and signed the lease that November, according to the paper, before moving into construction and remodeling ahead of its October debut. The response since opening has been encouraging, Mansoob said, describing the community reception simply as great.
The new restaurant fills a space previously occupied by the Chinese restaurant Wok On In, which had operated in the shopping center since mid-2023, according to Bham Now, which first reported the incoming Wings R King location back in March. The turnover is the latest sign of how quickly retail space in that corner of Pelham gets snapped up.
A Growing International Food Corner on U.S. 31
Pelham Plaza has quietly become something of an international dining hub along the U.S. Route 31 corridor, already home to Mi Pueblo, Tequila's Mexican Cantina & Grill and Yamato Japanese Steakhouse, as Bham Now has reported. Wings R King now joins that cluster, giving the shopping center an even broader mix of cuisines for drivers passing through on one of Pelham's busiest commercial stretches.
The Pelham store expects to draw customers not just from the city itself but from portions of neighboring Alabaster and Helena, per the Shelby County Reporter's report, and it offers delivery through DoorDash and Uber Eats for those who would rather stay home. Mansoob's goal, he said, is straightforward: build the business while keeping food and service quality high for the surrounding community.
Sixteen Years From a Single Trussville Storefront
Wings R King's roots trace back to a single restaurant that opened in Trussville in 2010. Since then the chain has expanded into a six-location network spanning Jefferson and Shelby counties, with stores on Lakeshore Parkway, Montgomery Highway in Hoover, Caldwell Mill Road, East Lake Boulevard in Tarrant, Eastern Valley Road in McCalla/Bessemer, and now Pelham, according to the company's own site. The McCalla/Bessemer location, at 4760 Eastern Valley Road, was announced in October 2025, just a year before the Pelham opening, marking the brand's steady push into outer-ring suburbs.
Mansoob says the chain tries to set itself apart through its menu of wings, tenders, burgers, fish and sandwiches, made with house-made sauces and cooked fresh to order rather than relying on reheated or premade ingredients. The company has also offered a 10 percent discount to service members, police officers and firefighters since its first location opened in 2010, a practice it has kept going at every store for 16 years running, according to the Shelby County Reporter.
Suburban Growth Fuels Fast-Casual Expansion
Wings R King's bet on Pelham lines up with broader demographic trends in the area. Pelham's population reached 25,664 as of July 2025, a 5.5% increase from the 24,318 residents counted in the 2020 census, according to data reported by HBH Realty Group. The city also carries a median household income of $101,094, per figures published by World Population Review, giving fast-casual operators a customer base with real spending power.
That growth is part of a larger surge of restaurant development along the Shelby County stretch of U.S. 31 and Interstate 65, where daily traffic counts exceed 100,000 vehicles, as Rolling Out has reported. Neighboring Alabaster is in the midst of the $242 million Shoppes at District 31 development, which is bringing in national chains like Shake Shack, Chipotle and Cava, putting independent operators like Wings R King in direct competition with much bigger brands for the same suburban dollars.
Mansoob says he hopes the Pelham store will get busier over time and continue building good business while delivering the kind of service that keeps customers coming back. For now, the ribbon-cutting marks another step in a chain that's gone from one Trussville storefront to a six-location footprint spanning two counties.
