JANESVILLE — In a deal that came together quickly, the poultry industry is looking to strengthen its firm grip on the City of Janesville.

Last night, the Janesville City Council announced that Wingstop, a fast-food chicken wing chain with over 3,000 global locations, would turn the 98,000-square-foot elementary school into the largest chicken restaurant in the country.

The Janesville City Council collaborated with the School District of Janesville for this monumental decision. Many local organizers have bashed the decision, as some have petitioned to keep the elementary school open despite the looming flood repair costs.

Chris Fallon, chief information officer at Wingstop, included in a statement that the restaurant chain would cover all flood cleanup costs and would even offer former Washington Elementary teachers special BOGO discounts at the location (only valid Monday through Friday during the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. from September of 2026 to May of 2027).

“We want to do our part to help these teachers that are entering the new school year with some uncertainty. Which is why we have agreed to give them these outstanding discount offers,” Fallon said. “We have already started to hear complaints that these discounts don’t do enough to offset the emotional toll that comes from losing a school like Washington.

“Unfortunately, we know that teachers are big complainers. You see it often when school districts smartly cut back on creative arts programs. They’re always the first to complain.”

While the restaurant blueprints are not final, the initial plan is to have the first floor dedicated to chicken wings, while the second floor is primarily for chicken tenders — an important distinction.

Janesville’s affinity for tasty fried morsels of everyone’s favorite birds seemed to be the driving force in making this deal happen.

“With such a big investment, our team set out to find the one city in America that could support so much chicken. Each analyst on our team kept coming back to Janesville. No other city in America came close when it came to chicken consumption per capita,” Fallon said on X. “It was a no-brainer.”

The restaurant hopes to break ground as soon as they can get a few more excavators and cranes. Somehow, all of the heavy machinery in the area is being used for the Mount Zion Avenue road construction, yet most of it seems to be just sitting there.