Render hopes “regroup,” reopen late 2015, early ’16
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
Rock City Wings LLC is planning to shut down on Sunday, May 31 after fewer than nine months in business.
Ursula Render said she hopes to reopen later this year or in early 2016.
Submitted photo
Rock City Wings owner Ursula Render plans to reopen later this year or in early 2016 after reorganizing her original business plan.
Render opened to great fanfare — and great chicken wings — on Sept. 19 in the Broad Street Square strip mall along East Broad Avenue in Rockingham. But she did so with an expectation of a business partner that failed to live up to expectations.
“I’ve got to restart, regroup and redo the business correctly,” Render told The Pee Dee Post Monday morning. “My passion for cooking has always been there.”
Render returned to her hometown last summer to help family through personal hardships, including the loss of a close family member. With more than 20 years in hospitality, Render said she’d always planned to return to Rockingham as a business owner. The business model she had in mind, however, was different than the one offered. A business partner made the situation possible, but that partnership didn’t pan out as planned, she said.
There have “been some challenges,” said Render, noting the temporary shutdown is a chance to “regroup.”
Patronage wasn’t one of them. Render said customers were very supportive of the restaurant and she hopes that in opening up again with a new business plan, and possibly a new partner, that revenue could triple.
“My name is getting out there,” she said. “I know my wings taste better than any of the wins in the area. I know it’s a good thing.”
The business could reopen in another location, Render said, but the Rock City Wings name will remain.
“Hopefully this go ’round will be much better,” Render said. “I’m hoping (to reopen) before the end of this year, but definitely next year.”
Like Danny Hayes and the House of Fish, which occupied that location prior to Rock City Wings, Render said limitations on signage was a problem.
Questions can be directed towards Render by phone at 910-434-4878.
