Hawaii's first Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar should be open in Waikiki by late spring.

It will open in the 6,500 square feet of Discovery Bay Center space vacated a year ago by Shanghai Bistro.

Tom Metzger, franchisee of Minnesota-based Buffalo Wild Wings Inc., is also a partner in Hawaii's stand-alone Little Caesar's restaurants—as opposed to the ones co-located in K-Mart stores.

Metzger will run operations in Hawaii and notes that his partner, Lawrence Harris, is the largest Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee in the nation, with 21 stores in Texas.

“;We have development rights for all islands and we plan to pursue development,”; he said, though he was hesitant to say how many units. “;We do have to manage what the economy tells us. We'll take it step by step,”; but there eventually will be multiple locations.

Permitting and a liquor license application are in the works, as is planning for hours of operation. However, it would be safe to say the restaurant will be open seven days a week for the pre-lunch to late-night crowd and will validate parking. It may open for breakfast on the weekends when big games will be shown on large-screen TVs, but that has yet to be set in stone, he said.

Despite the wings, beer and TV sports bar perception, it promotes itself as a family restaurant as well.

The words buffalo wings evoke a perception of spicy chicken wings, but the restaurant's 14 sauces range from sweet teriyaki on the mild end to the wild and blazing sauces on the “;other end,”; Metzger said. Wild is the second-hottest and blazing is the hottest, but he says beyond heat, they also have good flavor.

His favorite is the hot barbecue sauce.

The Buffalo Wild Wings Web site reflects its self-description as a “;fun, edgy, high-energy and easygoing restaurant.”; Its nickname, B-Dubs, is trademarked, so it's not all fun and games.

However, at the “;Be Here”; link on its home page, you will find “;Leave Work Early”; tools including fake excuses, jury duty summons and doctors' notes, as well as downloadable office sound effects to leave running at your work station in your absence.

Separately, Metzger is overseeing completion of Little Caesar's Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The Waianae location, next to Blockbuster on Farrington Highway, should be open in mid-December, while the Waimanalo Town Center store and the Ewa Beach Little Caesar's, next to Star Market, may open late next month or in early January. The Waipahu store, near Longs and Office Depot, is to open in February.

The store that opened in Aiea Town Square over the summer was the first of 15 on the drawing board.