Jul. 28--We're drowning our recession sorrows in chicken wings, beer and televised sports.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc., the Golden Valley-based chain that offers all three of the above, reported higher-than-expected second-quarter profit of nearly $7 million, up from $5.6 million a year ago.

That works out to 39 cents per share for the quarter ended June 28. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected 34 cents.

The company also brought out a new menu Monday and is planning a 3 percent price increase for the third quarter.

"Even with an unsettling and ever-changing economic backdrop, we're in the fortunate position to continue to be able to invest in our brands and our people," CEO Sally Smith told analysts in a conference call after the market's close on Monday. Smith added that the company was well toward its 2009 growth targets of 15 percent unit growth, 25 percent revenue growth and 20 to 25 percent earnings growth.

Same-store sales for the quarter grew 2.8 percent at company-owned locations and 3.7 percent at franchised units. Total revenue, which includes sales from new restaurant locations, grew 32.4 percent to $129.6 million.

Same store sales for the first month of the third quarter grew at 1.2 percent for company owned stores and 1.8 percent for franchise owned, according to company executives.

Buffalo Wild Wings continues to open new stores, reporting its 600th opening, this one in Wilson, N.C. The company broke fresh ground in Hawaii and San Francisco during a quarter in which it opened nine company-owned stores.

Smith also told analysts on Monday of a contract to open 20 new locations in airports across the country, the first in New York's JFK this fall. The company expects another 22 locations to open in the third quarter, five of them company-owned and the rest franchised.

The company's new menu includes two new limited-time wing recipes. The most noticeable price increase may be the Tuesday night wing specials, which rose from 40 cents to 45 cents per wing.

Smith said the continued high cost of chicken wings drove the price increases. The company pays $1.67 per pound for wings today, compared with $1.17 a year ago.

Buffalo Wild Wings' stock fell 1.4 percent in trading Monday, closing at $37.11 before the earnings news was released. It rallied to $37.65 in after-hours trading.

Matt McKinney --612-673-7329

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