AllStar Wings and Ribs set to open 10th location

VAUGHAN, Ont. – Following a career in aviation, Tom Anastopoulos decided to tackle a different type of wing. 

In the early 2000s, Anastopoulos was laid off from his job in aeronautics. 

He soon decided to combine his love of cooking with previous restaurant experience to create the AllStar Wings and Ribs concept.

“The offerings in the market were limited and I thought we could do much better,” said Anastopoulos, who is president of the restaurant group. 

“An opportunity presented itself, which I guess I took advantage of.”

Starting with his own rib recipe, Anastopoulos began building the menu and theme of the restaurant. 

The first location, which had about 45 seats, opened in Markham, Ont., in 2003. 

“Within a year, it just took off,” Anastopoulos said. 

“Demand was far exceeding what our expectations were.”

Rather than open a sports bar, Anastopoulos created a sports-themed family restaurant concept for AllStar. 

The move broadened the restaurant’s available customer demographic. 

“The world today is becoming a lot more complicated,” Anastopoulos said. 

“If there’s one thing that unites all people from everywhere, no matter what your background is, it’s sports.”

After opening in Markham, Anastopoulos began working on the second location, which opened in Richmond Hill, Ont., in 2005. 

“Within three days, we had lineups,” Anastopoulos said. “From that point, we started thinking about the future, expansion and replicating the concept.

In 2009, AllStar opened its flagship location in Vaughan, Ont., which includes a training centre and corporate head office. 

Today, the restaurant has grown to include eight locations in Southern Ontario and one in Vancouver — part of a franchising deal that allows up to 10 locations on the West Coast. The 10th AllStar location is currently under construction in Pickering, Ont. 

“I’m a foodie myself. I love to eat food. I love cooking,” Anastopoulos said. 

“I had the sense I had a good thing, but I never imagined it would have got to this point.”

Allstar’s menu features more than 200 flavours of wings, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, ribs, as well as a variety of sandwiches and salads. 

Anastopoulos said travelling around the world inspires many of the sauces for AllStar’s wings and ribs. 

“I have enjoyed the flavours from around the world and I wanted to incorporate that into the offerings. That’s an aspect of what I believe is appealing.” he said, noting the most popular flavour is his own chipotle recipe. 

The decor has been compared to a sports “hall of fame.” Alongside numerous televisions, each AllStar location features a large amount of authentic, and sometimes autographed, sports memorabilia. 

“We see it at the Olympics, sports brings everybody together regardless of their background,” Anastopoulos said. 

“It was a matter of capturing that and pairing it alongside a good food offering.”

Now with 10 locations, Anastopoulos said AllStar is considering expanding outside of Canada. 

“We do plan to eventually cross the border and beyond, but we’re not at that point yet,” Anastopoulos said. 

“It is something we’re seriously considering.”