Wingstop – the US chicken chain – is poised to open a new licensed restaurant at Rushmere Shopping Centre in Craigavon, Armagh I can reveal.
While the company has yet to make a formal announcement, Wingstop is currently advertising for both a General Manager and an Assistant Manager for a new Rushmere site, confirming the identity of the much-anticipated restaurant approved for the former Synge & Byrne unit.
It comes just weeks after Wingstop’s Northern Ireland debut on Belfast’s Boucher Road, where opening day saw long queues and the first 100 customers handed free wings.
The Rushmere restaurant will occupy and significantly extend the unit beside the EE store, which previously traded as Synge & Byrne until its closure in March last year. Planning approval granted by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council allows for an 82-seat restaurant with a variety of seating layouts.
The former café space of around 1,800 sq ft will be expanded to more than 3,300 sq ft including the outdoor seating, transforming what planners described as a “blank brick façade” at Rushmere’s west entrance into a vibrant glazed frontage, with blue/black engineering brick detailing to match recent upgrades elsewhere in the centre.
Rushmere – which first opened 50 years ago as Craigavon Shopping Centre – has not had a licensed bar on site for more than three decades.
The new Wingstop restaurant is intended to “develop and extend the burgeoning evening economy of the shopping centre”, with its own entrance ensuring it can operate independently of normal mall trading hours.
Wingstop, founded in Texas in 1994 and operated in the UK and Ireland by Lemon Pepper Holdings, now has around 3,000 locations worldwide.
The brand entered the Irish market with a restaurant at Liffey Valley in Dublin in December 2025 before opening in Belfast earlier this month. A Belfast city centre outlet at Castle Place and a restaurant at the former Wagamama site in Dundonald are also in the pipeline.
Speaking at the Boucher Road launch, a Wingstop UK & Ireland spokesperson said: “We are so excited to bring the flavour to Northern Ireland at last. Belfast has a rich history of hospitality, and we are looking forward to embedding ourselves within this brilliant, vibrant city and bringing our unique flavours to a whole new audience.”
Lemon Pepper Holdings has outlined plans to open around 20 Wingstop sites across the island of Ireland over the next seven years, backed by its Step-Up programme and Wingstop University internal training scheme to support long-term career progression.
Northern Ireland has seen a surge in major chicken brands in recent years, including US rival Popeyes, which opened its first NI restaurant at Forestside Shopping Centre in south Belfast in September 2024.
An opening date for Wingstop at Rushmere has not yet been confirmed, but recruitment for senior roles is under way – signalling that Co Armagh’s newest restaurant and bar is edging closer to welcoming its first customers.
