Buffalo Wild Wings interview questions are likely to focus on your availability, how you treat guests, how you work with a team on a busy night, and the five values on its careers site: Hustle, Sportsmanship, Spontaneity, Community and Fun. You apply online, at a hiring event or through its chat assistant, and the restaurant's owner decides who to hire.
Everything below comes from the Buffalo Wild Wings careers site and the job postings on it, linked as we go. Buffalo Wild Wings doesn't publish its interview questions, so the questions further down are the topics its postings and values point to, with how to answer each one.
The Buffalo Wild Wings hiring process at a glance
| Step | What happens | What Buffalo Wild Wings says about timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Find a role | Search jobs at careers.buffalowildwings.com, ask the Ally chat assistant, or join the Talent Community for alerts. | Not published |
| 2. Apply | Click "Apply Now" on a posting, or go to a Team Member or Management hiring event. | Not published |
| 3. Interview | The restaurant interviews you. Format and length aren't published. | Not published |
| 4. Hiring decision | The restaurant's owner, either the company or a franchisee, decides. | Not published |
What is the Buffalo Wild Wings hiring process?
You find a job on the careers site, apply through the posting or at a hiring event, and interview with the restaurant. The careers site splits jobs into two groups: Team Member and Management.
Who actually hires you
Many Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants are franchised. The careers site says: "Each Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee is an independent employer and thus solely responsible for hiring decisions". That's why the application process can look different from one posting to the next. In the postings we checked, "Apply Now" led to different application systems for different restaurants. Questions about a job at a franchised restaurant go to that franchisee.
Ways to apply
- Search the jobs list at careers.buffalowildwings.com/jobs and click "Apply Now" on a posting.
- Ask Ally, the site's recruitment assistant, which says it can answer questions about working there, help you find a job and help you apply.
- Go to a hiring event. The careers site lists separate Team Member and Management hiring events.
- Join the Talent Community to be told about new roles.
The roles
Restaurant postings on the site include Server, Bartender, Cook and Kitchen Team Member/Cook, plus Assistant General Manager and other management roles. An Assistant General Manager posting says the role manages Shift Managers, Servers, Bartenders and Service Assistants.
Cohesyve
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What is the Buffalo Wild Wings interview process like?
Buffalo Wild Wings doesn't publish its interview format, length or who conducts it, and with many restaurants run by franchisees it can vary. Whoever schedules your interview can tell you who you'll meet and how long to allow; it's a reasonable thing to ask.
What the site does publish is what it wants from people. Its five values, from the working at Buffalo Wild Wings page:
| Value | How Buffalo Wild Wings describes it |
|---|---|
| Hustle | "Take ownership in providing a winning guest experience. Anticipate and embrace change with zeal." |
| Sportsmanship | "Celebrate differences, be fair and act like a team player in all situations." |
| Spontaneity | "Be authentic while cheering on and adapting to the arrival of the unknown." |
| Community | "Create unique, positive guest experiences while fostering strong community connections." |
| Fun | "Enjoy the moment, create an engaging, entertaining environment." |
A Bartender posting we checked lists these same five traits among what it's looking for. Expect the interview to test them, along with your availability.
What does each role ask for?
Requirements are set per posting and can differ between restaurants. These come from postings live on 27 October 2026:
| Role (posting location) | What the posting asks for |
|---|---|
| Server (Oxnard, CA) | 18 or older; food safety and alcohol service certifications where the law requires them; reliable transport; evenings, weekends, holidays and shifts past midnight; restaurant or customer service experience preferred, not required |
| Bartender (Foley, AL) | Prior bartending, preferably in a high-volume, full-service restaurant; food handling and alcohol service certification; "exceptional guest service skills"; minimum legal age to serve alcohol |
| Cook (Bowling Green, OH) | One or more years of recent kitchen experience; a team player; comfortable in a fast pace; shifts of six hours or more |
| Kitchen Team Member/Cook (Oxford, AL) | 16 or older, or higher where the law requires; knowledge of sanitation, food safety and security procedures; restaurant or customer service experience preferred |
| Assistant General Manager (Statesboro, GA) | Preferably three years of restaurant, bar or kitchen management; knowledge of labour laws, health codes and food safety |
Read the posting for the exact restaurant you're applying to. Your interview will follow what that posting asks for.
Does Buffalo Wild Wings have an assessment?
The careers site and the postings we checked don't mention a pre-hire test. If you're given scenarios and asked what you'd do, that's a situational judgement format, and our guide to situational judgement tests explains how it works. Answer as you would actually behave on shift.
How long does the Buffalo Wild Wings hiring process take?
Buffalo Wild Wings doesn't publish a timeline. With hiring decisions made restaurant by restaurant, it depends on the location. If you apply at a hiring event, ask the people there when you should expect to hear back.
Common Buffalo Wild Wings interview questions and how to answer them
These questions follow what the postings ask for and the five published values. Answer the "tell me about a time" ones in STAR form (situation, task, action, result); our STAR method guide shows how.
1. Why do you want to work at Buffalo Wild Wings?
Be specific. The careers site says Buffalo Wild Wings "fuels moments worth sharing" for guests and team members, and describes the energy of working in a sports bar. Say what draws you: the game-day atmosphere, the team, or the chance to move into management.
2. What is your availability?
Give an exact, honest answer. The Server posting we checked asks for evenings, weekends, holidays and shifts that run past midnight, so say clearly which of those you can work.
3. Tell me about a time you gave a guest a great experience.
This is Hustle: "Take ownership in providing a winning guest experience." It's also Community: "Create unique, positive guest experiences while fostering strong community connections." Pick a story where you noticed what someone needed before they asked, and say what the result was.
4. How would you handle a guest who is unhappy with their order on a packed game night?
Show that you'd listen, apologise, fix it fast and keep your other tables looked after. If you've done this before, use the real example.
5. Tell me about a time you helped a teammate during a rush.
This is Sportsmanship: "act like a team player in all situations." Describe a busy shift, a group project or a match where you stepped in to help someone else, and what difference it made.
6. How do you handle it when plans change suddenly?
This is Spontaneity: "adapting to the arrival of the unknown." Think of a moment such as a large group arriving without warning, and give an example of staying calm and adjusting quickly.
7. How would you make a guest's visit more fun?
This is Fun: "create an engaging, entertaining environment." Talk about being friendly, reading the table, and joining in with the atmosphere without slowing service.
8. How do you serve alcohol responsibly? (Server and Bartender roles)
Server and Bartender postings ask for alcohol service certification where the law requires it. Mention checking ID, watching how much guests have had, refusing service politely when needed and involving a manager.
9. What does food safety mean in a busy kitchen? (Cook roles)
Kitchen postings ask for knowledge of sanitation and food safety. Talk about hand washing, keeping raw and cooked food apart, watching temperatures and cleaning as you go, even when tickets are piling up.
10. Tell me about your kitchen experience. (Cook roles)
The Cook posting we checked asks for one or more years of recent kitchen experience. Name the stations you've worked, the volume you handled and how you kept food consistent.
11. How would you lead a team through a slow night or a rush? (Management roles)
The Assistant General Manager posting talks about directing others' work, championing change and developing the team. Use a real example of leading people, with what you did and what changed.
12. Do you have any questions for us?
Ask about training, how shifts are scheduled, and how people move up. The careers site names its LEAD and Blazin' Games training programmes, so you could ask what they involve at that restaurant.
For more practice, our list of behavioural interview questions has a bigger bank of "tell me about a time" questions.
How to prepare for a Buffalo Wild Wings interview
- Read the posting for your restaurant. Age, experience and certification requirements differ between postings.
- Write down your exact availability, including late nights, weekends and holidays.
- Prepare one STAR story for each value: Hustle, Sportsmanship, Spontaneity, Community and Fun.
- Check certification rules for food handling and alcohol service where you live, especially for Server and Bartender roles.
- Visit the restaurant before the interview if you can, ideally on a busy night, so you know the pace.
- Practise out loud in a mock interview with someone who will give you honest feedback.
- Bring two or three questions about training, shifts and progression.
Practising realistic work tasks
Interviews reward prepared stories. Assessments reward judgement, and that improves with practice on realistic tasks. Cohesyve, which publishes this guide, runs practice job simulations for your role, with a scored report on where you lost marks. It isn't affiliated with Buffalo Wild Wings and doesn't use its assessments or questions.
FAQs
How old do you have to be to work at Buffalo Wild Wings?
It depends on the role, the restaurant and local law. A Kitchen Team Member/Cook posting we checked asks for 16 or older, a Server posting asks for 18 or older, and the Bartender posting asks for the legal minimum age to serve alcohol.
Do you need experience to be a server at Buffalo Wild Wings?
The Server posting we checked lists restaurant or customer service experience as preferred, not required. Bartender and Cook postings ask for prior experience.
Is Buffalo Wild Wings franchise or company-owned?
Both. The careers site says many restaurants are franchised, and that each franchisee is an independent employer responsible for its own hiring decisions.
Does Buffalo Wild Wings hold hiring events?
Yes. The careers site lists separate Team Member and Management hiring events.
Does Buffalo Wild Wings use a chatbot for hiring?
The careers site has a recruitment assistant called Ally, which can answer questions, help you find a job and help you apply.
Does Buffalo Wild Wings drug test or run background checks?
The careers site and postings we checked don't say. Ask the restaurant, since policies can differ between franchisees.
Sources
Checked 27 October 2026:
- careers.buffalowildwings.com: Careers home and Working at Buffalo Wild Wings (purpose and values)
- careers.buffalowildwings.com: Job search, including the Server posting (Oxnard, CA), Bartender posting (Foley, AL), Cook posting (Bowling Green, OH), Kitchen Team Member/Cook posting (Oxford, AL) and Assistant General Manager posting (Statesboro, GA)
- careers.inspirebrands.com: Inspire Brands careers (Buffalo Wild Wings' parent company)