- June 11, 2025
- Posted by General Electric Credit Union
- 4 read
Noble Chicken: Made-to-Order Eats in Eastgate
In March, Cincinnati-based company Wings and Rings opened a new Noble Chicken location in Eastgate. The concept—made-to-order chicken with bold flavors—came about in a unique way.
For years, Wings and Rings entered wing contests but never took home first place. They were a local chain restaurant competing against much smaller restaurants, and they realized they needed to get creative. They began entering competitions under the pseudonym ‘Noble Chicken’ and used the same sauces and recipes as before. Their strategy paid off.
“When we won these contests, we got to go: ‘Surprise! This is Wings and Rings, you can get these sauces at our store,’” says Dan Sweatt, Senior Marketing Manager at Noble Chicken. “The more contests we started to win the more we started to do well, and the more thought went into ‘well maybe there’s some life in this Noble Chicken idea.’”
They initially launched a quick-service concept before rebranding and opening a free-standing, full-service restaurant.
“We think we do chicken better than anybody,” says Sweatt. “It's made to order—nothing sits in baskets."
Stop by for enormous chicken tenders, unique chicken sandwiches, and bright salads. They have over a dozen sauces on the menu, including parmesan ranch and gochujang, so you can tailor your chicken experience to your flavor pallet. For sides, choose from hush puppies, hatch queso mac and cheese, fries, and more. They even do catering.
“We had someone come in on the Sunday before the Kentucky Derby and say ‘I’m giving you guys a test run to see if you’re worthy of catering my Kentucky Derby party. He had one sandwich and 20 minutes later said, ‘I need to place an order for next week,’” says Sweatt. “Those kinds of stories happen every day here, and it’s really exciting to see people fall in love with the brand.”
As an established company in Cincinnati, Wings and Rings had a lot of options when it came to their and Noble Chicken’s business banking needs. Sweatt says what made General Electric Credit Union (GECU) stand apart was the quality of the partnership and the expertise of our Business Services team.
“They helped us take some small steps before we could take some big ones,” says Sweatt. “And when we were ready to leap, they were right there holding our hand.”
It’s been a transformative year for both Noble Chicken and Wings and Rings. For the former, their new restaurant off Beechmont Avenue features bold branding and modern solutions like ordering kiosks and a new point of sale (POS) system that they financed through GECU. On the Wings and Rings side, they finally secured a permanent headquarters in Eastgate after operating out of a temporary space for the last several years.
“Finding a lending account that made it easy for us to grow and easy to envision a long-term future was super important—we have that with GECU,” says Sweatt.
Competitive commercial lending terms aren’t the only solution Sweatt and his team take advantage of at GECU. Our Simply Free Business Checking Account also helps boost Noble Chicken’s bottom line with no monthly fees and free cash deposits up to $10,000 per month.1 Plus, ACH payments allow them to easily move funds and pay their employees through direct deposit on a weekly basis. As a result, they’re able to position themselves as a great employer and attract better talent.
As he reflects on Noble Chicken’s unconventional journey into the Cincinnati restaurant scene, he calls attention to the role GECU played in their story.
“When we had this crazy vision of opening a new brand and starting something brand new from scratch, GECU was an eager partner for us,” says Sweatt. “We don’t have Noble Chicken without partnering with a great company like GECU.”
“When we won these contests, we got to go: ‘Surprise! This is Wings and Rings, you can get these sauces at our store,’” says Dan Sweatt, Senior Marketing Manager at Noble Chicken. “The more contests we started to win the more we started to do well, and the more thought went into ‘well maybe there’s some life in this Noble Chicken idea.’”
They initially launched a quick-service concept before rebranding and opening a free-standing, full-service restaurant.
“We think we do chicken better than anybody,” says Sweatt. “It's made to order—nothing sits in baskets."
Stop by for enormous chicken tenders, unique chicken sandwiches, and bright salads. They have over a dozen sauces on the menu, including parmesan ranch and gochujang, so you can tailor your chicken experience to your flavor pallet. For sides, choose from hush puppies, hatch queso mac and cheese, fries, and more. They even do catering.
“We had someone come in on the Sunday before the Kentucky Derby and say ‘I’m giving you guys a test run to see if you’re worthy of catering my Kentucky Derby party. He had one sandwich and 20 minutes later said, ‘I need to place an order for next week,’” says Sweatt. “Those kinds of stories happen every day here, and it’s really exciting to see people fall in love with the brand.”
As an established company in Cincinnati, Wings and Rings had a lot of options when it came to their and Noble Chicken’s business banking needs. Sweatt says what made General Electric Credit Union (GECU) stand apart was the quality of the partnership and the expertise of our Business Services team.
“They helped us take some small steps before we could take some big ones,” says Sweatt. “And when we were ready to leap, they were right there holding our hand.”
It’s been a transformative year for both Noble Chicken and Wings and Rings. For the former, their new restaurant off Beechmont Avenue features bold branding and modern solutions like ordering kiosks and a new point of sale (POS) system that they financed through GECU. On the Wings and Rings side, they finally secured a permanent headquarters in Eastgate after operating out of a temporary space for the last several years.
“Finding a lending account that made it easy for us to grow and easy to envision a long-term future was super important—we have that with GECU,” says Sweatt.
Competitive commercial lending terms aren’t the only solution Sweatt and his team take advantage of at GECU. Our Simply Free Business Checking Account also helps boost Noble Chicken’s bottom line with no monthly fees and free cash deposits up to $10,000 per month.1 Plus, ACH payments allow them to easily move funds and pay their employees through direct deposit on a weekly basis. As a result, they’re able to position themselves as a great employer and attract better talent.
As he reflects on Noble Chicken’s unconventional journey into the Cincinnati restaurant scene, he calls attention to the role GECU played in their story.
“When we had this crazy vision of opening a new brand and starting something brand new from scratch, GECU was an eager partner for us,” says Sweatt. “We don’t have Noble Chicken without partnering with a great company like GECU.”