Wings over Mount Vernon

Bulgarian manager praised as he delivers strong sales of chicken wings after one year in business.

In Bulgaria, chicken wings are not served as an appetizer or fast food, but it’s one thing Zdravko Solenkov got used to when he settled in

Alexandria and got a job as a delivery driver for Del Ray's Wing Zone.

He made the best of the situation and is now the manager of a Wing Zone in Mount Vernon where he just celebrated one year with major sales figures. “His earnings ranked him at number 15 out of all the Wing Zone locations in the country,” a company spokesperson stated, and this was noted by company owners who congratulated Solenkov in person.

“I wanted to open a place on my own,” Solenkov said, “I saw it as a good opportunity,” he said.

Delivering wings in Del Ray was a little low key compared to managing a place in Mount Vernon where his restaurant is in a strip mall just north of Fort Belvoir. He met Mitko Kostadinov, the manager in Del Ray who is from Macedonia and the two hit it off since both were newcomers to the United States. Kostadinov helped him set up the new restaurant and they’ve done well in the new location.

After delivering wings for a few months, he went to Arlington and became a bar manager where he met a waitress with a Somalian background. They started dating and now he’s been married for two years.

Super Bowl Sunday was the benchmark that all area food establishments eye for sales, and although football isn’t big in Bulgaria, Solenkov could see that it was a big deal here. “Football season, probably our busiest time,” he said.

Solenkov plays soccer when he has the time as he did at home but noticed a few other things that people do in this country that they don’t do in Bulgaria. Bulgarian food has more vegetables in it, there was not much delivery service, and tipping was a new experience. “Over there It’s not as common,” he said.

His family is still in Bulgaria, and he plans to visit soon. With the computer and Skype, “I talk to them all the time,” he said.

Wing Zone was founded in 1991 at the University of Florida by Matt Friedman and Adam Scott, who dubbed themselves “Flavorholics,” because of their love of wings, according to company information. The Wing Zone franchise was born in their fraternity house kitchen, and the concept grew through delivery to their fellow college students. Wing Zone now has nearly 100 locations open across the U.S. and overseas with new restaurants in Panama, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Malabo, Singapore and Guatemala.